BlBLtlOTECA DELtbA H. CASA
IN NAPOLI
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RURAL ECONOMY
o p
NORFOLK;
COMPRISING THE
Management of Landed Eflates,
AND THE
PRESENT PRACTICE of HUSBANDRY
INTHATCOUNTY.
I .
\ By Mr. MARSHALL,
(Author of Minutes of Agriculture, &c.)
I
. Resident upwards of Two Years in Norfolk.
I
Printed for G. Nicol, Bookfeller to his Majefty, Pall-mall;
G. G. and J. Robinson, Paternofter-row j
, and J. Debrett, Piccadilly.
M,D CC,XCV.
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ADDRESS
TO THE
READER.
I N regiftering the practice of this Dif-
tridt, I purfued a two-fold method.
Such eftablifhed rules of management as are
generally obferved in common pradlice, I
committed tOaSYSTEMATIZED REGISTER,
as they occurred to my obfervation. But
fuch particular operations, and peculiarities
of management, as required an accurate
• detail of circumftances ; — alfo fuch com-
plex obfervations, as included a plurality of
fubjedtsj — -alfo fuch inftances of pradtice
and opinion, as I found peculiar to indivi-
duals j— I reduced to Minutes, inferi^s
with thofe on my own pradlicc.
A 2 In
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ADDRESS
In preparing' thefe materials for publi-
cation, I was defirous, on the principle of
fimplicity, to have united the two regifters :
that is, to have incorporated the Minutes
with the fyftematized matter. But this I
found entirely incompatible with the fim-
plicity I was feeking. Many of the indi-
vidual Minutes pertaining to a variety of
difiinft fubjecSs, would not aflimilate with
any one of them j while others were, in
ftridnefs, foreign to the fyftem of praftice
prevalent in the Difixid: ; being upon inci-'
dents in my own practice, and upon obfer-
vations and refledlions on fubjefts not efpe-
cially connected with the rural affairs of
Norfolk, but equally relative to the rural
economy of the Ifland at large.
Thus, feeing the neceffity of keeping the
two regifters diftinft, in lome degree, I
thought it right to let them remain (with a'
few exceptions) in the manner in which
they were written : but, in order to connect
them as intimately as the nature of them
\yould admit of^ I digefted the fubjedls of
' the
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TO THE READER.
V
the Minutes, and fufpended them to their
cbrrefponding fubjedts in the system j
through which means the two regifters may
be read together, or feparately, at the option
of the reader.
I was induced to adopt this method, with
lefs hefitation, as I am ftill more and more
convinced that practical knowledge
is never conveyed more forcibly than in
Minutes, made while the minuti^ of
pradlice are frefh in the memory, and the
attendant circumstances are ftill prefent
to the imagination. Nor am I fingular in
this opinion. A mafterly writer conveys
the fame fentiment, in more elegant Ian-
guage. It muft,” fays he, “ be ac-
knowledged, that the methods of difquifi-
tion and teaching may be fometimes diffe-
rent, and on very good reafon undoubtedly ;
but, for my part, I am convinced that the
method of teaching which approaches moft
nearly to the method of inveftigation, is in-
comparably the beft ; fince, not content' •
%vith fcrving up a few barren' and lifelefs
' A 3 truths.
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truths, it leads to the flock on which the^
grew : it tends to fet the reader himfelf in
the track of invention, and to diredl him in-
to thofe paths in which the author has made
his own difcovery, if he Ihould be fo happy
as to have made any that are valuable.”
I will place this fubject in a light compa-
rative with two of the learned profeflions.
Minutes, in rural economy, are as cases
in phyfic and furgery, and as reports in
law. They are all, and equally, if equally
authentic, practice in its best form.
I'or an agriciiltor cannot regiller an inci-
dent, — a furgeon, a cafe, — nor a lawyer,
the proceedings and decifion of a court,
with any degree of accuracy and perfpi-
cuoufnefs, until he has afcertained, and fet
before him, the fadls and attendant circum-
ilances refpCdIng it j — and has revolved in
his mind the caufe, the operation, and the
efledl. In doing this, he not only finds it
neceflary to afeertain minutial fafts and cir-
cumflances, which, otherwife, 'he would
have overlooked; but is led on, by reflec-.
TO-'THE kEADEk.
vii
ti6n, to inferences which, otherwifc, would
riot have occurred to him : and, if he tfegif-
ter fully and faithfully, he knows no more
of the given fubjedl when he has finifhed
his regifler, thin the perfon who may,
afterwards, have read it. Confequently,
he not only thereby renders his practice
more vHudble to himfelf ; but, by reading
his report, his minute, or his cafe, the feu-
dent gains full pofleflion of the praftice of a
pracfeitiorier. — Hence; principally, a bar-
rlAer is enabled to feep into court, and a
phyfician into a fick room, without the
afllfeance of felf-pra(feice.
■ I will place thefe fubjefts in another
point of view. The attorney, the apothe-
cary, and the common farmer, are enabled
■to carry on their rcfpedlive profefliohs, or
callings, without thofe fcientific helps'. —
The fonner depend upon the pradtice of
their mafters, and their own pradfice, during
their clerkfliip, or apprenticefhip j as the
farmer does upon that of his father, and the
country he happens to be bred in. But
A 4 why •
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viii ADDRESS
why do we,, in difficulties, fly from the apo-
thecary to the phyfician, and from the
attorney to the counfellor ? Becaufe they
have ftudied their profeffions fcientifically,
have obtained a general knowledge, and.
taken comprehenfive views, of their re-
fpedtive fubjedts ; — as well as of the.
fciences and fubjedts which are allied to
them ; and, added to thefe fcientific aids,
have made themfelves mailers of the prac-
tice, and the opinions, of the able pradti-
tioners who have gone before them ; as well
as of COTEMPORARY PRACTITIONERS.
With refpedl to the following Minutes,
it only remains neceflary to fay, that they
were written in an adlive fcene, and that
more attention was paid to circumllances
tlian to language. Thofe on hulbandry
were written, as I conceive all minutes on
the fubjedl ought to be written, in the
FAMILIAR LANGUAGE OF FARMING;
and, many of them, in the provincial phra-
feology of the Diftridl they were written in.
I confefs, however, that, in revifing them
for
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TO THE READER.
lx
for publication, I thought it prudent to do
away fome of the familiar isms of the
original Minutes. If, in the prefent form,
they furnifh fuch practical data and
NATURAL FACTS as may, in the end, be
ferviceable to the main delign, and, in the
inftant, be acceptable to practitioners,
and ufeful to the student, the intention of
publilhing them will be fully obtained.
London, Feb. i, 1787.
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CONTENTS
bp THE
SECOND VOLUME.
MINUTES.
No.
1780.
1. /'T^HE meafurement of - a Jheepfold.
2. A The Norfolk method of undirdraining.
3. Steeping the feed, and — ■■ refawing turneps.
4. The Norfolk method of ixchanging laruh.
1781.
5^ On tenants ■ ■■ pruning hedgerow timber,
6. An inilance of — — — burning ant-hills,
7. On the pradfice and profit of - — snowing pajiures .
8. Incidents on mixing cattle and /keep.
9. On planting ivy againft fea-Jlone fence-walk.
10. Effedts of — — Jhovelings of a Jheepfold engrafsland.
August.
12. Obfervatlons on the turnep-caterpillcr ,
^ 3 * ^be evil efFedfs pf the ■ berbery plant.
14. An
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CONTENTS.
14. An indancc of .. .i....! ; mowing wheat t
1 S' The method of laying — »• — clay hay-chamber ~ floor
1 6. Experiments and obfervations on . • wehJ,
17. on putting ewes to ramSi
18. on manure! for wheau
ig, on the mode of ■ ■■ ■ /owing wheats
20. Obf. on the Anbury and other ~ enemies ofturnepSt
21. Inftancc of fiieepfold Checking the
turnep-Jly,
September.
22. Obfervations on the caufe of the Anbury,
23. The rife and practice of — — — — dibbling wheat,
October.
24. Inftanceof ■ [owing clover in autumn,
25. Obfervations on the peaks of gables,
26. Further obfervations on ■ dibbling wheat.
27. Obfervations on the bullock-fair of St. Faith's .
26. F urther obfervations on - dibbling wheat.
29. Sundry experiments tvith Ume.
November.
30. Refledtions on — > furze-fsodt
31. on the unprodu£livenefs of a fair-Jleai.
32. The Norfolk method of thatching with reedi
33. A fecure way of laying pantileu
34. Obfervations on the — time of cutting hedge-wood,
35. On the utility and the height of check-beams,
36. Obfervations and incidents on — tapping oaks*
37. Inftance of fuccefs in tranfplanting oaks.
3S. Obfervations on the proper foil, &c. for — the ajh. '
39. Defeription of Holt fair, ■
40. On thc profitablenefs of the JJlc-of-Sky-Scots.
D £ C E M -
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C .O N T E N T S.
December.
4 . 1 . On laying up wheat-lands among ■ ■■ — ■ phenfanU,
4.2, A regulation for the ■ ■ — prefervatlon of hedges.
43. Incident on /owing wheat hetween-furrow,
44. The Norfolk method of opening drains^
4j. Obfervations on making ditches on bill-ftdes.
1782,
4 ^ Mr. Bayfield*s obfervation on rearing cattle,
4 Z
48. Obfervations on
42 ^
51 ^
^^2. A fingular inftance of
Si
S 4
51
S 6 . Obfervations on bullocks at turneps in the yard.
Refledtions on the time of — receiving rents,
laying pantiles.
On the Norfolk farmers partiality for — arable land.
The metiiod of ^gelding" ant-hills.
General obfervations on Norfolk meadows.
— fatting fvuir.e,
rearing calves,
• peat-grounds tf the fens.
Inftance of pra^ice in
An account of the —
Obf. on — — marling on South-lValJham hundred.
Sh
in the field, fs’e.
— . Obfervations on
hoing turneps.
a fingular light land fioil-procefs.
58, Refleftions on the prefent poverty of — — farmers.
• ' February.
jQ. Inftance of an — oak thriving in fand.
•r—. — the abforbency of the
Norfolk foil.
60.
61.
62.
Obfervations on
buttrejfes.
Inftance of -
■ preferving turneps.
a flourifhing though dijharked ajh.
Obfervations on
ivied ditches.
64. Obi
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CONTENTS,
64. Obfervations on the annual
Obfervations on ■
<•7. Mr. Bayfield’s method of -
68. Obfcrvations on the
jbg. obfervations on —
— . Practice of individuals in •
Pra£lice of individuals in —
repair of roofs.
Inftance of fhameful management of rmade^s
■ rubbing-pqfis
-fowlng wheat.
■ price af turneps.
70.
72 -
Particular
Norfolk treatment of ■
- bullocks at iurneps,
bullocks at turnepu
rearing calves.
- feedrproeejs for iurneps.
• choakedbulloeks.
Comparifon between-^ — ^ hosnebreds ondScots^ isle.
Gen. obf. on — - farm-y^ard management of Jlravi,
Obfervations on different •
breeds of Jheep,
73 . ,
7 4. Inftanccs of the— -winter -management ofjlore-cattb,
75 - " ^
ZZi
78- .
7 9. 1 ntiance of convert, arable land to — rabbit-warren.
So,
St.
Inftance of inconveniency of — — long-yjoolcd Jheep.
Obfervations on the Norfolk ditch-mould.
on the efFe£l of fevere weather on — lands.
Defeription of tltiz\>\s£ine{%oi 3 i-—Norf.corn-nu»rket.
Qn ^he choice of the fpecies of tree for — planting.
March.
82. A remarkable effed in crojftng Jheep.
83. On iurneps as a fpring feed for — — cows .
84. Obfervations on — bullocks breaking turneps.
85. on thinning hedge-row timbers.
b’6. Inltance of the proUhenefs in — Norfolk peep-
87. General obfervations on — — — renewing hedges.
gS, , _ furze-hedges.
89- On the Norfolk method of — cutting reed.
90, Gen, obf. on hedge-row — — timbers and pollards.
91. Inftance
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C O N T' ,E N ;T S.
qi. Inftance of damage to roofs by 9 ■ — — high tuini.
92. Obfervations on the — refidtnce of workmen,
93. Theeffe£l of fevere weather on— 'bulkcks at turnefs,
94. Obfervations on ■ - ■ ■ — — Aylejham fair,
95. Incident and obfervations on — weeding plantations •
April.
g6. On Mr. Horfley’s management of his — - meadow\.
97. Obfervations on two lots of — bullocks at turneps.
98. Inftance of Imall expence of — farming in Norfolk.
99. Inftance of — " . tutting ridgils,
100. On the alertnefs of the Norfolk farm ~ wariwa.
May.
101. Obfervations on Norwich — ■ — clover-feed market,
102 . Inftance of bullocks fold at Smithfield.
Calculation of profit of ■ ■ ■ ■ bullocks at turneps.
103. Inftance of the bad conftruftion of — - Norf. ditches.
J04. On furze fkreens zn^mtthoioi— fewing furze-feed.
105. Obfervations on ■ - Waljham fair.
106. Obfervations in the — Tleg hundreds.
107. Obfervations on — — — Worjlead fair.
108. Experience in — - - — cheefe-making,
icg. Experience in making butter.
118. Obfervations on two lots of — bullocks at turneps.
- — . Obfervations on ■■ buying bullocks,
111. Obf. onfellingbullocksandon — Smithfield-mariet.
1 12 . Obf. on the Eajlern coaji and Ingham fair.
June.
113. Obf. on two lots of bullocks fent to — Smithfield.
—. General obfervations on buying bullocks,
. Obfervations on ' _ ■ bullocks at grafs.
114. Inftance
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CONTENTS.
114. Indance of improper -—management of a wet fail,
1 1 5. Obf. on the height of — — farm-yard fence-walb.
116. Obf. on carrying up fea-Jione walk,
117. on the payday of a Smith field drover.
• on the uncertainty of — Smitbfield market.
118. the Blowfield hundred and Yarmouth marjhes.
1 19* ' the fale and profit of homebred bullocii,
J20. Indance of burning the furface of a dunghill.
J 2 1 . - - ■ - of wet weather inj uring . m fcalds,
August.
J22. Obfervations on the
123.
■' - turnep-caterpillar.
— Cawjion Jheep-Jhow.
J24. Further obfervations on the — turnepTenthredo,
September.
I ? 5 . Indance of a ■ _ backward feafoa,
- — . Regider of the ■ advancement of fpring.
126. Incident of a depopulated hive of ■ . bees.
1 27. Experiment on_the^time of — manuring grafdand.
128. Incident relative to another dljbarktd ajh,
1 29. Further obfervations on the turnep X ’.nthreda.
130. Refle<aions on the — — — Miefutnmer Jhoot.
J31. Defeription of a cheap hog-cijlern,
132. Final obfervations on the — turnep ‘Tenthredo.
October.
133. Experiment on wheat wth a — berbery plant,
134. Obfervations on the — bullock-fair of St. Faith.
135. Defeription of a ■
136. The expence of
- furze-faggot fence.
■ tnarling by water-carriage,
137. Particulars relative to Felbrig inciofure.
Provincialisms , , , page 373
MINUTES,
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^OTHE PUBLIC. xvii
Work, it would be a want of gratitude
not to add, that, how greatly foever Sir
HaRbord Harbord arid myfelf might
differ upon matters of Bujinefs, I flatter
myfelf I fliall always retain a proper fenfe
of the'perfonal civilities I had the honor
bf receivings during my refdence at
Gun TON. _
Before I cldfe this Addrefs, it may be
proper to inform the Public, that it is my
intentiori, at pf^fent, to finifh the pro-
pofed Plan, upon an enlarged bafls ; hav-
ing now extended it, not only to the
Management of landed Estates,
but to Planting j an art upon which,
fome time ago, I digefled my ideas, and
in whiSli I have, fince, had an opportunity
bf extending my practice : thus,' purpo-
fing to reflore to their natural union the
three branches of Rural Econo-
mics.
/
London, ift Feb.
VoL. I. b
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advertisement
TO THE
SECOND EDITION.
JTROM a recent furvey of this County ^
made under the direSHons of the Bo ar Ij
OF Agriculture, and executed by
Mr. Kent, who has had the management
of fome valuable Efates in it for many
yearsy I expelled to have been able to add
fome inter efing information concerning the
Rural Management ^/^Norfolk, as well as
to correEl fome of the errors to which all hu-
man produdlions are liable. My expeBa.^
tionsy however y have failed. I have found
nothing new relating to the Norfolk
Managementy either of Efates or
Farms ; and, in the only infance in which
Mr. Kent has attempted to correB the
Firfl
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ADVERTISEMENT
Ftrji Ediikn of this Work, he has aho^
gciber mifunderjiood the pafj'age.
Under the head M e A D o w L A n d , Mr,
Jv E N T has. faid, ‘ ‘ Mr .Marshall recom-
“ mends ’watering, and fays it would double
their -ealue." Now, in truth, I have
faid no fuch thing j nor any thing which
conveys that idea. If the reader will turn
to page of tlse. firf volume of the pre-r
fent, or of the firfi edition (the. two being
literally, verbally, and in page, the fame],
he will find that I ha;oe faid, and I fill fay,
— “ without this advantage, great as it
** would be in addition, I will venture to
“ afert, from an extraordinary attention to
this fubjecl , that the ^ontal value of
“ the 'Mcfidows (^ Eaft Norfolk might be
“ doubled.” And I am now enabled to
add, from a fimilar kind of attention paid to
the watered meadows of the W fierti Coun-
ties, that , with this advantage, the rental
value of many of the 'meadow lands. o/'Nor-
folk ( I mean thofe whichfy fit nation can
receive water of a calcareous quality ) might
he. increafed threefold.
Fhofe
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TO THE SECOND EDITION
l^hofe •who are fortunately in po{feJ]ion
£»/' fuch lands would do well to confult
Mr. cxcellenrTreatife on the
Watering of Lands in Dorsetshire ^
as well as Mr. Davis’s admirable Re~
marks on the fame fubjedl, in his valuable ,
Report to the Board of Agricul-
ture oJ< the Rtfral Management of
Wiltshire.
Eondon, Oflobcr, 1^4*
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CONTEN TS
OF THE
^ FIRST VOLUME.
Z
1 - T^Istrict, Page I
6. Farmers, Page ^7
* « A 4 O
7 « Workmen, — . 40
8. Horses, ^
9. ^ELEMENTS, ^
'X*A&RSf w...
Ji. General Management of Estates. 66
tt. Buildings, — gj i
1 14. Hedges, — ,5
1 15. Inclofures, TiS
l6.PLANTING,andtheMANAGEMENT0fTjMBER, II9
17. General Management of Farms,
18. Laying-out, ,30
13. Vegetating Procefs, t-!<y
ao. Soil Prorrfc,
24. Harvelt Procels, ,84
Ai- 1' <*1111-1 ard
11. MatiUic Procefs, TJo~
it. Seed Proeefs, ,gj,
*7 Wheat, __ ,oi I
a8. Bariet, — ,33 1
*9. Oats, 145
30. PfcAS, _ 24g
11 . Vp.TrnFc - 1
1 *o« xviarkcts^
35 * Nat. Grasses, 3,0
36. Cattle, — ,,,
37. Sheep, _ HI
38. Rabbits, — ,,,,
11. Rur If
39 - Swine, — — 777
Turneps. —
4 *. Poultry, 7^
42. Bees, — ■
List of Rates, o
305
«
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MINUTES
1 N
N O R F O L K.
1. ■ .
1780. Septem-^ I AHIS morning, meailired
BER 2id. JL a fhefipfold, {et out for
600 flieep, confifting of ewes, wedders, arid
grown lambs.
It meafures eight by five-and-a-half rods,’
or forty-four fquare ftatute rods ; which is
fomewhat more than feven rods to a hundred,
or nvo yards to a Iheep. ‘ '
•
2 .
October 27th. A few weeks ago a tenant
afked for fome topwood to under-drain
part of a clofe of arable land ; which part
being cold and Ipringy, fcarcely ever pro-
duced a crop ; and, this morning, I have been
to fee the procels of under draining in this coun-
try.
Having from feveral years obfervation mark-
ed the fpringy parts, he began by circumferib-
VoL. II. B ing
manure.
SHEEP.
draining.
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2
MINUTES.
Oct.
ing them with a, drain, made as hereafter de-
fcribed, and then drew others \vithln it in fuch
dire<5tions as he knew from obfcrvation (not
methodically) would convey the fuperfluous
moifture from the wet parts to a main drain
and outlet . \ ) I J ] (
The drains were formed by two men, each
of them having a tapering fpade, and a hook-
ed fcoop. The firft man took out a fpit, with a
fquare-pointcd..l 2 :iade ten inches long, feven
inches v/ide at the tread, and five inches at the
point j and, to make a fmooth footing lor the
next man to Hand upon, drew out the crumbs
^-five-inch fcoop. . , .
. The p then man funk it about eight inches
deeper with' a round-pointed fpade, eight inches
long, five Inches wide at the tread, and three
inches near the point ; clearing out the bottom
with a narrow-mouthed fcoop ; namely, two
inches and a half to three inches wide : the
- drain, when fihiflied, being a foot to fourteen
inches wide'at the top; from eighteen to twenty
ifiches deep ; ahd about three inches wide at
the bottom. • ' ' ' '
‘ Thcfe drains were filled with oak and alder
boughs' in tliis riianner :
The Ipray being flript off, the woody parts
(from an inch and a Iralf to three inches dia-
' - - . . . . .. ._ meter)
2 .
fcRAININC.
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NORFOLK.
3
178b.
$
meter) were ' laid in the bottom of thfe drain.
If crooked, they liad a chop given them in
the elbow, and flien ptefled down to the bot-*
tom with the foot. If large, one, if fmall,
two or three of thefe flicks were laid, at .the
bottom j upon thefe the fpray, with the leaves
on i and upon this a covering of heath. The
whole, when trodden down, appeared to fill the
drain within^a few inches of the top.
The mould was then laid on and ridged up
over the drain.
A roller pafTcd along and finifhed the opera-
tion.
The land was immediately plowed for
wheat. -
The quantity of land drained is about three
acres:
The expence about five pounds, or one
pound thirteen (hillings and four pence an acre,
viz.
Opening and filling in 1 84 rods at . ,
2ii. - . - 2 6 o
Three loads of boughs (given him by f
his landlord) fuppofe — • r, i ip o
' Two loads of heath 1 4J. carriage lor. i 40
£S o o
'' B 2 He
, ^ * . > .» *
2.
drainincT '
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■Nov.
St
Zi
DRAINING,
TURNEPS.
MINUTE
s;
He has repeatedly experienced this method
of draining, and has found it anfwer his ex-
pe&ations. He is a cautious judicious hufband-
jiian, and would not lay out 3 /. loj. without
a moral certainty of gain.
3-
November 8, An experienced farmer in
tliis neighbourhood fays he has frequently
found that fteeping old turnep foed in water,
and letting it lie a few hours in the fun before
fowing, has brought it up much fooner than
fowingitdry. . ■
' He adds, that tliis year, having negle<5ted
to deep it, he had turnep feed lay three weeks
m the ground before it came up. He was
advifed to plow in the few draggling plants
which appeared fbon after fowing, underan idea
that the fly had eaten off the remainder : but
he judged from experience that the principal
part of the feed was ftill in the ground ; he
accordingly waited until rain fell, and has now,
I fee, a very fine crop of turneps.
- This is a valuable incident ; for it is highly
probable, that in the beginning of the feafon,
when old feed is obliged to be fown, many
crops of turneps have been prevented by
plowing the ground prematurely.
Novem-
1
I
I
Digitized by (jOOgle
178a NORFOLK.
* 4 -
Novemb£r II. A. and B. having leve-
ral fmall pieces of land lying intermixed
•with each other’s eftates, agreed upon an ex-
change by arbitration.
The particular lands to be exchanged, and
the general outline of the agreement having
been prcvioufly determined upon ; and each
party having made choice of a referee ; arti-
cles of agreement for exchange were figned.
The matters left to reference were thefe ;
I ft. The rental value of the refpeftive lands
in exchange.
2d. To determine which of the timber-trees,
growing on the premifes Ihoiild be taken down
by the then prefent owners (and removed off die
premifes before July nextenfuing) and which
lliould be left ftanding.
3d, The value of the timber, ftands, pollards,
and ftubwood, which the arbitrators ftiould
judge proper to be left ftanding on the premiles.
4th. A principal part of 5 .’s land lying at a
diftance from any of A.\ farms, except one
which is let on a leafe that has fix years to
run, during which time it remains at the
o[)tion of the tenant whether or not he will
B 3 rent
%
ft-
EXCHANGE ,
, OF LANDS.
Digitized by Google
A
6 .
A
EXCHANGE
OP LANDS.
MINUTES. - No'v,
rent the fe lands ; it was agreed that each party
fhall, if required, hold his own land (or find
a proper tenant) during the faid term of fix
years, at fuch rent, and under fuch covenants,
as the arbitrators fliould fix on.
On Monday the 6th inftant, the arbitrators
met } >and having previotijly named an umpire,
or third perfon, in cafe they fliould difagree in
their award, entered upon the bufinefs j which
was thus conduced.
Having firfl: taken a curfoiy view of the fe-
veral pieces to be exchanged ; and having fet-
tled bemeen themfelves die mode and rate of
valuing the wood ■, they took the whole before
them in this manner.
The arbitrators, both of them men of fuperi-.
or abilities in the bufinefs they had undertaken,
went firfl: j pointing out which of the trees
fliould (land, and which be taken down : the
latter were marked by chopping off a piece of
the bark with an adze. The pollards and
ftubwood deemed fit to ftand were valued '
and minuted by the arbitrators themfelves j
and the timber-trees mcafured by two carpen-
ters (one chofen by each party), an account
being minuted by an affiftant j by whom like-
wife the number of ftands were taken.
The
Digitized by Google
1780. N'OrR'FOXvK. 7 ,]
The arbitrators, as they paffed along,- 4. .
their eyes upon the 'land, and feparately put- exohange •
their private valuations upon it. •. , of lands, •,
The lands having been previoufly furveyed t
by two furveyors (one for each party), and tlic -
rate of valuation of the timber and other r
woods to be left ftanding on the premifes hav-
ing been previoufly fixed upon by the referees,,
— it now remained to afeertain the value of
the feveral parcels of land j for whicli purpoie
a fpecial meeting was appointed and held,
yefterday.
To fimplify this important part of the bufi-.
nefs, and to render it as little liable to unne-
cefiary cavil as poflible, it was agreed that the
difterence of rental value, whatever it might
happen to be, fliould be calculated at twenty-
five years purcliafe. . ■
The rental value of the refpeiflive pieces
tlterefore now remained the almofl: only thing
in fulpence. But in this they had differed
widely 'in their valuations : in fome pieces fo
much as four Ihillings an acre.
Argument luving been tried without effefl;
to reconcile the differences, it was propofed
by one of the referees to leave the matter" to
the umpire.
B 4 Finding
Digitized by Cooglc
r
MINUTES.
Nov.
4 -
EXCHANGE
OF LANDS.
RENT.
Finding things in this ftatc, I ventured to
propofc a mode of fcttlement which appeared '
to me not only brief but equitable. This was,
to lay afide intirely the particularized efti-
mates j and, after fetting a part which was
tythefrce againft a part of an inferiour qua-
lity, to exchange acre for acre. — It was agreed
to by all parties.
There being a balance in the quantity of
land under exchange of about four acres and
a half, the bufinefs was now to fix a fair rental
value upon this furplus. After fome conver- '
lation it was fixed at fifteen fliillings an acre.
The rent of the land for the next fix years
was alfo fixed at the fame rate j and the princi-
pal covenants entered into were, that the feve- *
ral pieces fliould be left, as to crops, &c. in
the fame ftate in which they now are.
Laftly, the value of the wood to be left upon
the premifes being afeertained by calculation,
the bufinefs was ended.
The referees had put down in their efti-
m^tes the rent of the land at twelve to fixteen
fhillings an acre *.
• 1 he quality nf the land.s in exchange are, confidcred
colleftively, foinswhat above the par of lands in this
The
Digitized by
NORFOLK.
9
1780.
The oak timber they valued at eighteen 4.
pence, and the ajh timber at one fliilling a foot, timber.
meafuring all above fix inches timber-girt*.
• The Jlands, one with another, at a fhilling
apiece (iefs than fix inches a ftand, more than
fix a timber tree).
'I'he pollards principally from one to three firewood.
fiiillings apiece — Ibme few at four fliilings.
The Jlubivocd'm proportion to the pollards.
5 *
n T n T • • j n HEDOEROW
1781. Mays. It is imprudent to truflr, timber.
’ in any degree, to tenants, in tlie pruning of
timber-trees. •
Tl'iis feafon I took unufual pains to infiruft a
your.g man, whofe farm is unmercifuiiy loaded ^
with wood, in what manner he ihould Jet up
fome trees which were particularly injurious to
his crops (namely, to take olF the fmall
boughs clofe to the ftem, and to leave live
growing twigs upon the large ones, to draw the
. fap, and thereby keep the fhimps alive) ; ne-
vcrthelefs the havock committed on his farm
is fiiameful.
It is true, he blames his men ; but this is
no excufe : he promifed to attend minutely to
• The limber in general co.arfe.
the
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10
M I .N U T E S..
^ Mav
5 »
KIDOEROV
TIMBER. ,
BtTRNING
ANT-HUXS.
the bufinefs himfclf. I pointed out the boughs
which were proper to be taken off: but for one
I pointed out, he has taken off three.
Nor is he the only one who has made the
fame wilful miftake j and it is a want of com-
mon prudence to leave to a tenant a bufinefs of
fo much importance to an eftate as the pruning
.of timber-trees j for he has a double intereft in
abufing his trull: :-^he difencumbers-his farm,
and fills his wood-yard.
In future, when I fee it neceffary that tim-
ber-trees Ihould be lightened of their low-
hanging boughs, whether for the prefcrvation •
of the hedge, or the relief of the crops, I will
fend awoodman to do it in a proper manner ;
and charge the faggots at a fair price to the
farmer*,
6 . •
May to. Some time agot, gave a tenant
leave to cut and burn ant-hills off a dole be-
longing to his farm, upon a common.
• This rule I afterwards obferved ; and found it not
only beneficial to the eftate, but agreeable to the tenant; •
for under this regulation he found more of this neceffary
work take place upon his, farm, than he had theretofore
been able to get done.
His
Digitized by Cooglc
1781.
NORFOLK.
ir
His motive is the improvement of his farm
by the alhes ; his pretext the improve-
ment of the common: both of which good’
purpofes will probably be obtained. He is'
to level the ground, and rake in grafs-feeds.’ • ’
His procefs is to cut them up with a heart-
Ihaped (harp fpade or fliovel, in irregular lumpsl
often to fifteen inches diameter, and two to
five or fix inches thick. Thefe are turned
grals-downward, until the mould-fide be tho-
roughly dry, and then fet up grafs-outward
until they are dry enough to burn.
The fire is kindled with brulh-wood, and
kept fmothering, by hying the fods or lumps
on gradually ^ the fire breaks out, until ten
to fifteen or twenty loads of alhes are raifed in
one heap^ The workmen have agreed to com-
plete the proccfs for a fhUling each load of
alhes.'
This is a cheap way of raifing manure j be-
fides, at the fame time, removing a nuifance;
and no man having fuch an opportunity in his
power ought to neglecl making at leafi an ex-
periment. On fome foils alhes are found in
themfelves an excellent manure j and, perhaps
generally, alhes railed in this way would be
found highly advantageous as bottoming for
(arm-yards and dunghills.
Junk
6 .
MANURE. ■
GRASSLAND,
Digitized by Google
12
MINUTE S.-
June
7 -
GRASSIJIXD.
7 *
June 28. The herbage of the dairy paf-
tures (fee Grassland, vol. I. alfo Min. 107.)
confifilng of ray grafs, white clover, and a few
of the taller graflcs, having run up in patches
to feed, I had it fwept over with the fithe ;
pardy to improve the feedage, which would
foon have been much incumbered by the dry
ftrawlike bents; and partly for the fodder,
this year of fcarcity of grafs for hay.
Shut them up for a few days to frdhen ;
gave one flailling an acre for mowing ; and to-
day have finifhed carr)'ing fourteen jags (about
nine or ten tons) of hay off forty-feven acres.
I’hc hay is more than tolerable ; for the
paflures not haying been too hard flocked,
there was a fine bottom of white clover ; which
mixed with the frefh flalks of the blade grafles,
likewife cut in the fulnefs of fap, and the
whole made flowly in fmall cocks, the hay is
green and fweetto a great degree; and will next
winter no doubt be worth from, fifty fhilli.ngs
to three pounds a ton.
Nine tons of hay at 5 5/. 24 15 o
Mowing 47 acres £.2 7
Making and carrying,
about - 27 4 14 o
Neat profit £.20 10
befidcs
Digitized by GoogI
1781'. NORFOLK.
befides the fightllnefs ; the improvement of
the feed ; and the prevention of thiftles and
other weeds from feeding on the ground, and
being blown about the neighbourhood.
8 .
July 10. Perhaps cattle and flieep fhould
be kept leparate.
While the dairy paftures were fwept (fee laft
Min.) the cows were fhifted into a grazing
ground j but-, notwithftanding there was a good
bite, and the grafs apparently of a defirable
quality, they did not fill themfelves, nor milk
fo well as they did before they >vere put in, and
after they were taken out j though their paf-
tiure afterwards was apparently of a worfc qua-
lity. But in the grazing ground were a flock
of Iheep i whilft the dairy paftures had nothing
in them except the cows and a few horfes.
Mr. Thomas Baldwin, of North Wallham,
fays, that having flieepfolded a piece of ground,
which, a drought fetting in, he could not, as
intended, break up ; a good bite of grals came
up where the ftieepfold had ftood. He put
his cows in to feed it off : they would not
touch it : he turned his horfes to it, and they
eat it into tlie very ground.
July
/ •
GRASSLAND.
STOCKING
PASICRES.
CATTLE.
SHEEP.
Digitized by Google
H
9 *
FENCE-
>VALLS.
MANURE.
GRASSLAND.
SHEEPFOLD.
MINUTES* - July
9 *
July a i . Perhaps plant my againft/^a/cw^
•walls to prevent their burfting.
Part of a wall before a cottage at Thorp is
overgrown witli ivy, part of it naked : the for-
mer is firm and upright — the latter burft in
many places ; fo as not to be made ftrong
again without a confiderable part of it being
taken down and rebuilt.
lO.
July 21. In December laft, feme Ihovcl-
lings of a flieepfold were fet experimentally
upon a piece of grafsland : tliis haytime I ob-
lerve the fwath there is nearly double to that
in any other part of the piece. — The foil »
good fandy loam.
. I I.
July 29. Mr. Samuel Barber has, upon
his Staninghall farm, a piece ofolland* barley,
• 0//«»</-barley ; that is, barley fown after QUand ; a
cotitraftion of old land, — and is now applied univerfaily'
to lays, or fward, produced by CuLTiv.'tTiD Grasses.
a fmall
I
Digitized by Google
1781.
N O R F O L.K.
*5
a fmall part of which was rtieepfolded once in
a place the reft undreficd.
Where the fold ftood the barley is, I appre-
hend, double the crop. The veftiges of the
fold are difcriminable to an inch. ’I'he crop
is thicker upon the ground, the ftraw ftronger,
and taller, and the ears fuller and much larger.
There cannot be iefs than three coombs an
acre gained to the firft crop, by one night’s
ftieepfold ; befides an advantage to enfuing
crops. The foil a light fcotching loam.
12 . .
August 3. The turnep crops of this
neighbourhood have fuftercd confiderably this
year from a fpecies of caterpillars — ^provin-
cially “ black cankers” — which prey upon the
plants after they are' in rough leaf; eating them
down to the ground ; and totally dcftfoying
tire crop wherever it happens to be attacked
by thefe voracious reptiles.
It is obfervable, however, that the dcftruc-
tion is partial; many pieces being- left tyt-
touched ; and thofe which are aftcifted arc" omy
■ • ■ . ■ ' partially
12 .
BARLEY.
TURNEP
CATtRP.
Digitized by Google
tS
12 .
TL'RNEP
CATEKP.
MINUTES. Auo.
partially eaten, in irregular plots ; which per-
haps arc entirely eaten off, while the reft of the
piece remains uninjured.
It is ftill more remarkable that the fca-coaft
has fuffered moft j the mifehief dccreafing With
the increaled diftance from the fea. Perhaps
the parent infccls were brought by the north-
eaft winds which have prevailed this year.
That infefts attempt, at leaft, to crofs the
ocean, feems evident from the obfervation of
Mr. Arthur Bayfield, of Antingham, who fays,
that being on the fealhore, fome years ago, he
faw myriads of flies, rejembling the cantharides,
.left dead upon the beach by the tide. Thefe,
probably, being becalmed, or meeting with
contrary winds in tlieir pafflige, becarne fpent,
dropt into the fea, and v.xre drowned.
Mr. Thomas Shepherd, of Northreps, fays,
that this year a piece of early-fown turneps
was feen to be almoft covered with a fpecies
of fly rcfembling the grey horfe fly j with this
difference, that tlie head is black and the body
yellow. From former obfervations of this kind
he foretold the deftrudtion of that piece of
turneps by the " cankers — and his appre-
hcnfions were too well grounded for it was
totally
Digitized by Gi
K O R F O L K.
*7
1781^
totally eaten up by them. What he adds is
remarkable j he fays that thefe flies were brought
by a long-continued north-eaft wind, and that
the wind getting round to the fouth, there
was not, in a few hours, a Angle fly to be
found in the piece.
It is ‘highly probable that thefe infers tra-
vel in flightsj and that they are led about from
place to place by the winds, or by other cir-
cumftances.
To prevent or check the devaftation com-
mitted by the caterpillars, various devices
have been praftifed by farmers whofe crops
were aflailed by them. Some rolled with
a heavy roller. Some fowcd lime over the
plants. Others employed ducks ; ahd others
women. and children to pick them off the
plants.
Mr. Arthur feayfield found diicks the moft
efficacious ; he collefted feventy or eighty,
and faved leveral acres of turneps through their
means. He fed them twice a-day with corn,
under an idea that “ cankers,” alone, would
kill them.
Mr. William Barnard found handpicking
anfwer his purpofe. Five women and boys
picked over ten or eleven acres of hoed plants
in one week ■, about eighteen pence an acre.
VoL. II. • C Mr.
12 .
TURNEP
CATERP.
TW-I N TJ T'E S.
Auc.
12 .
TURNEP
CATERP.
Mr. James Carter, having one fide of a dole
entirely eaten up, and the other fide, which
had been fown later, entirely free from ca-
terpillars, dug a trench between the two
parts, and put fome lime in the bottom of it,
by which artful expedient he favcd his turneps :
for the caterpillars, in attempting to crofs the
trench in fearch of frelh pafturage, fell among
the lime, and were fmothered. Mr. Bayfield
fays, that if the weather be dry', digging a
trench without the lime will ftop them: for
the fide of the trench being dully they cannot
crawl up, but roll back to the bottom ; and
by repeated attempts become exhaufted.
The farmers wlio hoed their plants while the
caterpillars were upon them, and witliout
ufing any precaution, inevitably loll their
crops, befides lofing the expence of hoing j
for after the operation the whole of die cater-
pillars fell of courfe upon the cornparatively
few plants which then remained, and prefendy
eat them down to the clods.
In this cafe, the. only remedy is. to plow up
the ground and fow afrcfii ; an expedient
which has been obliged to be pradlifed on,
perhaps, fome hundred acres of turnep ground
this year.
, . . About
Digitized by Googt
lyZil NORFOLK. 19
About twenty years ago, it feems, the whole j 3 .
country was ftripped by this means ; the firflr turnep
fowings being deftroyed throughout the county.
August 3. It has long been confidered berbery,
as one of the firfl: of vulgar errors among
hulbandmen, that the berbery plant has a per-
nicious quality (or rather a myfterious power)
of blighting the wheat which grows near.it. wheat.
This idea, whether it be erroneous or found-
ed on fadl, is no where more ftrongly rooted
than among the Norfolk farmers j one of
whom mentioning, with a ferious countenance*
an inftance of this malady, I very fafhionably
laughed at him. He, however, flood firm,
and perfilled in his being in the right j — inti-
mating, that fo far from being led from the
caufe to the effect, he was, in the reverfe, led
from the effe£l to the caufe : for obferving a
flripe of blafted wheat acrofs his clofe, he
traced it back to the hedge, thinking there to
have found the enemy ; but being difappoint-
cd, he crofled the lane into a garden on the
oppofite fide of it, where he found a large ber-
bery bufh in the direftion in which he had
locked for it. The mifehief, according to his
C 2 deferip-
Digilized by Google
20
Awe,
MINUTES.
Ij. dtfcription, ftretched away from this point
BiRBERy. acrofs the field of wheat, growing broader and
fainter (like the tail of a comet) the farther it
proceeded from its fource. The effect was
carried to a greater diftance than he had ever
obferved it before ; owing, as he believed, to an
opening in the orchard behind if to the fbuth-
w'cfl:, forming a gut or channel for the wind.
Hearing him thus particular in his deferip-
tion, and knowing him to be accurate in every
circumftance as to fituation, I afked him ho\V
he accounted for the mifehief. He anfwered
to this effedt: the berbery and wheat blow at the
fame time, and the. duft, or farina, of the ber-
bery being blown over the wheat when in
bloom, is poifonous to it, and caufes the blight.
This, I confefs, fiaggered my incredulity ;
for if the farina of vegetables be carried to a
confiderable diftance, and at that diftance
' have a quality of frudluofity towards their owm
fpecies ; — and if fome vegetables are lalubri-
ous, others poifonous, to the animal creation,
why may not the farina of one vegetable be
carried to a confiderable diftance, and there be-
come poifonous to the fruitfulnefs of another
of a diflimilar genus * ?
• This, however, is evidently not the caufe ; for I have
, Ance
Digitized by
u
1781. N O R F O L K.
Being defirous of afcertaining the facfl, be it
what it may, I have enquired further among
intelligent farmers concerning this fubjedt.—
They are, to a man, decided in their opinion as
to the fafl ; which appears to have been fo
long eftablilhed in the minds of principal
farmers, that it is now difficult to afeertain it
from obfervations j berbery plants having (of
late years more particularly) been extirpated
from farm-hedges with the utmoft care and
affiduity : one inftance, however, of mifehief,
this year, I had related to me, and another I was
myfelf eye-witnefs to. Mr. William Barnard,
of Bradfield, fays, that this year feeing a patch
of his wheat very much blighted, he looked
round for a berbery buffi j but fteing none
confpicuous in the hedge, which was thick,
he with fome difficulty got into it, and there
found the enemy. He is clearly decided as to
the faft. Mr. William Gibbs, of Rowton,
telling me that a patch of his wheat was blight-
ed in the fame manner, and that he believed it
to proceed from fome Iprigs of berbery which
remained in the neighbouring hedge (Avhich a
few years ago v/as weeded from it) I went to
fince obferved, that th* berbery blows feveral weeks be^.
fore wheat Ihoots into ear.
C 3 infped^
13 -
BERBERV.
Digitized by Google
22
JfJ-
, BERBERY.
' HARVEST.
1N& WHEAT.
HAY-CHA\fi
BER FLOOR.
. MINUTES. fv0.
infped the place ; and true it is, that near it we
found ' three fmall plants of berbery ; one of
which was particularly full of berries. Tire
draw of the wheat is black ; and the grain, if
it may be fo called, a mere hufk of bran j
while the reft of the piece is of a much fupe-
rior quality. '
Thefe circumftances are undoubtedly ftrong
• < •
evidence ■, 'but do not by any means amount to
? 4 *
August 9. Laft night In riding from Nor-.
,wich, I faw a farmer, at Hainford, mewing
fomc wheat, which was dead ripe, and free
from weeds. The gatherers immediately fol-
lowed the fjthe, and the waggon the gatherers;
ib that it was harvefted at a trifling expence
(at a time when all the corn in the country is
Tipe, and hands of courfe unufually fcarce) and
was fecuredin the barn, without any rifque from
die weather. This, at a pinch, may be worth
imitation.
* 5 -
A*ugust 22. An excellent and cheap hay-
chamber floor is made in this country with clay
and rods. ^
Finiflred
Digitized b, C'l
a
.NORFOLK.
V
.1781.
\
. Flnilhed one today upon a farm at Suf-
field.
. It meafiires fix yards by eight, or forty-
-cight fquare yards. '
' It took -three hundred fplints (alder and
willow rods, about the thicknefs of a man’s
wrift down to that of his thumb) at -
IS. (?d. - - O '4' 6
Three loads of clay (calling and • ^
- ' carriage near) ' - o ' 4 6
• A waggon-body-full of ftraw 020
Five days of a bricklayer and la-
bourer, at IS. fid. - 0 12-6
• One ditto to plaifter it when it is - '
, dry on the under-fide, o ’ 2 6
• I' ^ » ti
*3
■IS-
HAV-CHAM-
BER FLOOR.
^ ■ 1. I e
pr fixpcnce halfpenny a yard fquare,
r N, B. The price, by meafurement, for labour
alone, is fourpence halfpenny a yard i which
is a great deal too much. ^ ' > — *
This floor was made in the following man-
ner :
_ The rods being trimmed (namely, the twigs
and tops taken off), they were laid acrols the
joills as clofe to each other as polTible. If
crooked they were crippled”(hada chop in the
crooked part with a hook or hatchet) fo as to
C 4 make
Digitized by Coogle
MINUTES.
Auo.
* 5 -
HAV-CHAM.
8ER FLOOR.
.make them touch every joift, as well as each
other. No nails or other confinement.
The clay being well foaked with water, the
principal part of it was mixed with long wheat-
ftraw ; which was well worked into it by the
means of a horfe, or man, treading it, and by
raking it about with a turnep hook j the reft
made mortar-wife, with a . fmall quantity of
ftiort ftraw. i
The rods being bedded^ and the clay pre-
pared, the “dauber” laid a plank acrofs the
rods to prevent his mifplacing tliem with his
feetj and, ftanding on this, laid - on a thick
coat of the ftrawy clay, fo as to cover the
thickeft of the fplints about an inch thick,
with a dung fork ; working it well in be-
^tween the crevices of the rods, and making it
as level on the top as that rough tool wctuld
make it. This done, he went over it again
^wth, the mortar-clay, (ftill ftanding on his
plank) and gave it a thin finifhing coat, with a
trowel. • The thicknefs of the rods and the
two coats of clay is about three inches the
thinner they aje the fooqcr they dry, and the
lighter they are for the joifts and timbers.
Where, from the uncoutlinefs of the rods, the
clay forced tlirough between them, the dauber
• with
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NORFOLK.
*S
17^1.
v/ith a hoe cut it off level with the rods on the
under-fide, and for this purpofe drew his hoe
pver every part of it— 7a job prefcntly done.
, In the fpring, when the floor is thoroughly
dry, it is intended to be plaiftered on the un-
dcr-lide, to cover the rods, and give it a par^
lourable appearance. This will t^e about a
d^y’s work.
. . A clay floor is preferable in two relpedb to
a boarded one : it is cheaper and tighter.—^
Boards, except they be well feafoned, and with-
out they be plowed-and-tongued, and laid
down at a greater expence than can be bellow-
ed on a farmer’s hay chamber, will let the dufl
and feeds through upon the horfes and harnelsj
y'hereas clay renders it as tight as lead.
Mentioning my doubts to the workman as xq
its duration, obferving that the fods^ I was
afraid*, would fpon fOt^—^-he anlwered, that did
not lignify, for if the ftraw be well worked
into the clay, the floor will remain firm, though
the rods be rotten.
Mr. J ohn Baker, of Southreps, whofe opinion
in this cafe is decifive, corroborates the idea
of clay floors being preferable to boarded onesj
and of tlreir lading a great number of years, •
Avousi*
*5-
HAY- CHAM-
B£R FX.OOR.
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a6
Avo.
.16.
WZLP.
MINUTES,
16.
Aucust 29. Laft year, to try whether
weld (Rejeda luteola—Aytr'% weed) be an ob-
jeft of the Norfolk culture, I fowed one acre
and three eighths with two pints of turnep feed,
■ and two pints and a hajf of weld feed, the 1 6th
^'of Auguft.
The foil, a lightifli fandy loam, had' been
plowed three times as a fallow for wheat;
gav'e a fourth plowing ; harrowed fowed the
• turnep-feed ; harrowed;- — fowed the weld feed|
re-harrowed, the horfcs trotting. • '' ' ’’
' It was hoed at a'confiderable expence with
final 1 carrot hoes r' it neverthelefs got full of
poppies and other weeds. '
On one end of the piece, where the turnejis
'were a bad crop, the weld was veiy good '; but^
upon the wliole, only indifferent. ’
• I am certain that in this experiment the
turneps were extremely prejudicial to the weld ;
•and there y/as ho feed from them worth turnins
the fheep to, until the plants' began' to run,’ in
rhe fpring; and then, in a few days, they ftarted
up, and drew the weld up with them, flendcr
and fickly. I am very clear in that, had the
weld been fown alone, and been twice hoed,
the crop would have been much better, and
'tlic foil left cleaner. ■
• i. .' - I appre-
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N O R F O L K.
27
1781.
I apprehend there is no occafion to leave the 1 6 .
plants fo thick upon the ground as is ufually weluj
done. I am perfuaded that fix or eight inch
hoes might be ufed with propriety in fetting
out the plants. If fo, the expence of hoing
would be little more than that of hoing turneps.
I am of opinion, from this experiment, as
well as from otliers that I find have been tried
in the county, that weld may be raifed with
confiderable profit in Norfolk ; efpecially at
prefent (during the war), ,when weld is dear ;
but I am at the fame time clearly of opinion,
that it is not the intereft of landlords to encou-
rage the pulture of it, without fome rigid re-
flricrions in their leafes to prevent their tenants
from carrying off their effates fuch a quantity
of vegetable matter, without replacing it with
an equivalency ofmanure, agreeably to the ufual
covenant relative to hay and ftraw: for it is
not the corn only, bur the Jlrazv likewife, that
is carried off the premifes in the fhape of weld:
perhaps to the amount of a ton or upwards an
acre.
17.
August 29. Lad autumn, in order to af- sn££p
certain the proper time of ■putting ewes to the
ramy I made the following experiment ;
The
t
Digitized by Google
, The 20th September ‘put a fcore of long-
wooled ewes of different ages to a Leicefter-
fliire ram, ar,d a fcore of Norfolk ewe? to a
Norfolk ram. Being in rather low condition,
few of them took the fai-p till the beginning qf
October.
The 1 9th of October put twenty-thtee long-
woolcd and forty Norfolk ewes to tlie fanjc
rams, keeping the two breeds fsparate.
The 20tli of November put the fame ranjs
to a I'core of each fort rd'erved for the purpofe.
The early lambs were much the ftouteft arid
bell for Itorcs; and grafs laipb \^'as out of
jeafon before tire late ones were ft for the
knife.
But the crones* wliich took the ram early
were not able to fupport their lambs in winter;
^for grafs was fcarce, and they could not break
turneps.
Therefore, this year, all the young ewes
.have been put to the rams a week agd, and all
jlic old ones are intended for tlie butcher before
this year’s grafs be gone: for in a country
where turneps are the principal fpring food,
crones appear to be unprofitable ftock,
* Crones — old ewes which have loft tlicir fort; tcfith.
' . August
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NORFOLK.
1781*
18 .
August 29 . Laft autumn, made an accu-
rate experiment on a large fcale, with different
manures for wlreat, on a Tandy loam, fummer
fallowed.
Part of an eighteen acre piece was manured
with fifteen or fixtecn loads of tolerably good
farm-yard dung an acre part with three chal-
drons of lime an acre ; the reft folded upon
with Iheep, twice j the firft time at the rate of
fix hundred fheep to a quarter of an acre (fee
Min. i.)i the fecond time thinner.
In winter and fpringthe dung kept the lead ;
and now, at harveft, it has produced the great-
eft burden of ftraw.
The fheepfold kept a ftcady pace from feed-
time to harveft, and is now evidently the beft
corned, and the cleaneft crop.
The lime, in winter and. fpring, made a poor
appearance, but after fome fliowers in fummer
it flourilhed much, and is now a tolerable crop;
not lefs, I apprehend, than three quarters an
acre : and in this country, where dung is fo
fingularly valuable for the turnep crop, it is a
fatisfaeftion to know that fummer fallowing and
lime alone will infure a tolerable crop of wheat.
From
29.
18.
MANITIES
for
WHEAT.
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M I N IT T E S.
Auo,
30
18. From thefe data, the value of fliecpfold, in
SH££pfold. this cafe, may be calculated^
By Min. i. it appears that one hundred
Iheep manured feven fquare rods daily. But
the fecond folding was thinner ; fuppofe nine
rods, this is, on a par of the two foldings, eight
rods a day each folding.
Tlie dung could not be worth lefs than half
a crown a load j and the carriage and fpreading
ten (hillings an acre j together, fifty Ihillings
an acre ; which quantity of land the hundred
fiieep teathed twice over in forty days.
Suppofing them to be folded the year round,
they would, at this rate, fold nine acres an-
nually j which, at fifty fliillings an Icre, is
twenty-two pounds ten Ihillings a hundred — or
four (hillings and fixpence a head.
In fome parts of the ifiand the fame quantity
of dung would be v/orth five pounds an acre,
which would raife the value of the teathe to
nine (hillings a head ; which, at twopence a
head a week, is more than the whole year’s
keep of the fheep.
It does not follow, ho%vever, that all lands
would have received equal benefit with the
piece in confideration; which, perhaps, had not
been folded upon for many years j perhaps
never
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1781.
NORFOLK.
3 *
never before ; and fheepfold, like other ma-
nures, may become lefs efficacious the longer
it is ufed on a given piece of land.
19.
August 29. In the above-mentioned piece
of wheat, I made a comparative experiment on
the mode of fowing.
Part was plowed-in, agreeably to the com-
mon practice of the Diftriet, laying up the foil
in narrow ridges : part Town on the laft plow-
ing, and harrowed in : part put in with Mr.
Duckett’s drill-plow j wliich, from fome prac-
tical knowledge of it, I had confidered to be
well adapted to the Norfolk foil.
The fowings being made acrofs the manur-
ings, the two experiments became diftinft; and
the refults clear and decifive. The time of
fowing the 31ft of OtStober.
The refult of this experiment was not fo
ftriking as that of the laft. The part Ibwn
over the furrow of the plow, and harrowed in,
is however, very perceptibly, the worft ; but
on comparing the part plowed in with the part
drilled, no obvious difference is to be percciv-'
ed. Had die drills been nine inches inftead of
twelve inches apart, I am of opinion they
would have gained a preference j bur, from
this
18.
SHEErrOLD.
SOWING
WHEAT.
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M I tJ T E S.
Alfd.
3i
19.
SOWING
wheat.
SEED
PROCESS.
IMPLEMENT.
this experiment, there does not appear to me to
be any advantage to be expelled from the drill
worth changing the cuftom of the country for;
Laft fpring I made fimilar experiments on the
ufe of this implement with peas and barley. —
During the fummer the drills feemed to gain a
pteferertee j but, at harveft, it is a moot point
whether the drill or the common plow has the
preference : and although thefe feveral expe-
riments were leen and attended to by fome
good farmers of the neighbourhood, I do not
find that any of them are fo much ftruck with
the refult as to be inclined to give up their pre-
fent practice : neverthelefs I am of opinion that
this ingenious implement merits further trial.
Barley appears to be the crop for which it is
moft efpecially adapted in this country.
N. B. In November laft, I attempted to try
the fix-rowed, or winter barley, againft the
common barley, as a winter crop ; fowing
fome of each fort above ; fome under ; and
fbmc in drills : but the pheafants, rooks, hares,,
and other vermin, fubverted the experiment,
and nearly deftroyed the crop : therefore, to
fave it from difgrace, the fcattered remains
were plowed up in the Ipring, and the land
fown with common barky.
August
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NORFOLK.
33
17S1.
20 ,
August 31. What a variety of enemies
have turneps in this country ! The " fly,” the
canker,” the “ maggot” (at the root) and
the " anbury,” liave this year already deftroyed
myriads.
The Jly took them in their infant ftate ; —
the grub and caterpillar whilft their tops were
yet fmall ; and, now, when their tops have al-
moft got their full fize, they are hourly dwind-
ling with the anbury.
The^rw^ in itfelf would not perhaps be fa-
tal } but the rooks, in order to come at it, pull
Up not only the plants which are attacked, but
thofe alio which are free from it ; and by this
means clear them as they go.
The anbury is a large exCrefeenGe, whicl»
forms Itfelf below the apple. It grows, it
feems, to the fize of both the hands ; and, as
foon as the hard weather fets in, or it is, by its
Own nature, brought to maturity, it becomes
putrid, and fmells very ofFenfivcly.
At prefent,the ftate of three Ipecimens which I
have taken up,and examined attentively, is this:
— The apples of the turneps are jufl: forming
(about the fize of walnuts in the hufk) wliile
the anburies are already as big as the egg of a
VoL. II. D goofe.
20 .
TURNEPS.
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MINUTES.
Au5.
3i‘
20 .
Tt'RNEPS.
goofe. — Theyarc irregular and uncouth in their
form, \vith inferior excrefcences (refembling
the races of ginger) hanging to them. On cut-
ting them, their general appearance is that of
a hard turnep j but on examining them through
' a magnifier, there are veins, or ftring-like vef-
fels, diiperfed among the pulp. The fmell and
tafte ibmewhat refemble thofe of turn'eps ; but
widiout their mildnefs ; having an auftere
and Ibmewhat difagreeable flavor, refembling
that of an old ftringy turnep. The tops of
thofe which are much affecVed turn yellow, and
flag with the heat of the fun ; fo that, in the day-
time, they are obvioufly uiftinguifliable from
thofe which are healthy.
It feems to be an idea among farmers, that
the caufe of the anbury is the foil’s being tired
of turnepsj owing to their having beentoooften
Town on the fame land. This, however, is pofi-
tively erroneous ; for the piece from which I
drew thefe fpecimens was an old orchard, and
never before bore turneps in the memory of
man.
Qurcre — Is it not caufed by the above-men-
tioned or fome other grub, that, wounding
the veflTels, of the tap root, diverts the courfe
of the fap ; which, inflead of forming the
apple, forms tliis excrefcence ?
August
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•NORFOLK.
3S
iySi.
21 .
f
August 3 1 . One fide of an eighteen acre
piece of turneps was folded upon j the reft of
the piece manured with dung.
The part fhcepfolded efcaped the devafta-
tion of the “ fly” obvioujly better than the part
dunked. —
O
Quaere — Were the flies increalcd by the
dung, or were they trodden to death, or fhut
up and fijfibcated in their burrows, by the feet
of the flieep ?
22 .
September 8. Mr. Thomas Drurey, of Er-
pingham, a man whofe opinion is valuable in
matters of hufljandry, fays, that rnarl is a cer-
tain preventative of the anbury . — He is alfo of
opinion with other judicious hufbandmen, that
teathing the barley-ftubble which is intended
for turneps, will caufe the anbury ; his land*
he fays, although it be old-marled land, is, by
avoiding the teathe> generally free from anbu-
ried turneps.
September 12. Mr. William Barnard, of
Eradfield, who was born (and refided until
D 2 ■ about
21 .
TURNEPS, ,
SHEEPFOL i
TURNEPS,
DIBBLING
WHXAT.
Digitized by Google
36
23 -
dibbling
WHEAT.
MINUTE S. Sept.
about three years ago) at Great Ellingham,
near Attleborough, gives die following ac-
count of the rife and pradlice of the dibbling of
'ivheat.
The dibbling of peas, he fays, has been a
cuftom of that part of Norfolk time immemo-
rial ; but the praftice has not been extended
to wheat above eighteen or twenty years ; nor
has it been in any degree general for more
dian ten years.
The pradice of dibbling wheat probably
arofe in this manner. — AtDeepham,an adjoin-
ing parilh to Ellingham, lived one James
Stone, a labouring man, who was, in that
neighbourhood, a noted dibbler of peas, and
who cultivated for himlelf a few acres which
he rented with his'eottage. — He had three chil-
dren who were as expert at “ dropping” as the
father was at “ dabbing and having fome
acre or two of clover lay, which came in courlc
for wheat, he conceived the idea of dibbling
in the feed ; probably drinking that he Ihould
thereby keep his children from idlenefs, and
fave them, at the fame timd, an unexpedted
fupply of bread.
He accordingly fet about putting his jeheme
in execution, and prefendy brought his neiglj,-
buurs
Digitized by Google
1781.
NORFOLK.
37
hours about him. Some of them fmiled, and
others laughed at Ills experiment j he never-
thelefs proceeded with his little corps, and
finifhed his patch.
The land being in good condition, and the
work being done in a mafterly manner, the
plants came up fo ftrong and beautiful as to
draw the eyes, not onljj of his fellow parifliion-
ers, but of the whole neighbourhood.
Mr. Barnard well recolle£ts the circum-
ftance j for he pafied the clofe (which lay by.
the lide of a public road) every day in his way
to and from fchool: and fays, that he has
frequently feen the neighbouring farmers,- in
their way to market, light at the gate, and go
into the piece, to view the crop, which wab now
become popular.
At harveft the crop proved extraordinarily
good ; and the dibbling of wheat has, from
that time, been more or lefs praflifcd in this
circle of the county : the only one in which
the praftice is, even yet, become general
among farmers.
Enquiring of Mr. B. the proportion which
dibbled wheat in that country bears to the
wheat fown broadcaft} he fays, there is as
much dibbled as there can be hands got to
D 3 • pup
23 -
DIBBLING
WHEAT.
Digitized by Google
35
MINUTES.
Sept.
23 *
PIBBLING
WHEAT.-
put it in ; and apprehends that one half of the
wheat about Wyndham and Attleborough is
dibbled in ; adding, that when wheat is dear
the work-people are engaged fome . months
beforehand ; and frequently, when they arc
paid off for dibbling peas in March, they are
engaged for the wheat feed-time.
Succejfion. A clover lay once plowed is what
is generally made ufe of for dibbling ; it has
however been tried, with a confiderable foarc
of fuccefs, on fallow ground.
Manure. The common praftice is to fpread
the dung, or other manure, prcfently before the
ground be plowed. Some lay it on after thq
feed js in by way of top-dreffing. But Mr.
B. is of opinion, that fotting on the manure in
July, and letting it wa(h into the foil before
plowing, is the moft eligible way of {nanuring
for dibbled wheat.
Soilprocejs. If the foil be light and the wea-
ther dry,, the plowman keeps pace with the
dibblers : — the holes will not otherwife ftand ;
the fand running in and filling them up. The
furrow' — provincially flags” — fliould be cut
about ten inches wide, and be turned over flat
and even-; and, to make them lay ftill fmooth-
er and firmer, they are rolled pretty hard be-
fore dibbling,
The
Digitized t>y Coogle
1781. -
N O R F O. L K.,
39
'Ihe dibbles made ufe of in this, operation are .
of iron. The acting part is an egg-fliaped
lyiob of iron or fteel fomewhat larger than a
pigeon’s egg. The fmaller end forms the
point of the dibble j and from the larger riles
a firing of iron, about half an inch fquare, and
two feet and a half long. The head of it is
received into a crofs piece of wood (refem-
bling the crutch of a fpade or fhovel) which
forms the handle.
'lie dibbler makes ufe of two of thefe tools ;
one in each hand ; and, bending over them,
walks backward upon die flags ; making two
rows of holes in each. The rows are ufually
made about four inches apart, and the diftance
in the rows from two and a half to three inches ;
namely, four holes in each length of the foot
of the dibbler.
The great art in making the holes lies in
leaving them fmooth and firm on the fides ;
fo tljat the loofe mould do not run in to fill
them up before the feeds are depofited. This
is done by a circular motjon of the hand and ^
wrift; which make a femi-revolution every
flroke : the circular motion begins as the
bit enters, and continues until it is clearly dif-
engaged from the mould. The dibbles rnufl
P 4 come
23-
DIBBLING
WHEAT.
Digitized by Cooglc
40
. 23 -
PISBLING
WH]WT.
MINUTES. Sept.'
cemc out clean, and wear bright, or die ope-
ration is not pcrfeA.
Another difficulty in dibbling is to make th(j'
holes at equal dillances ; more efpccially to
keep the two rows ftraight and parallel v/ith
each other : for the dibbles being two diftinck
inftrumfnts, it requires fome praflice to guide
them with precifion j fo as to pierce the flag
in the exaft point required. To remedy this,
couples have been invented to keep the dibbles
at a given diftance ; but this renders the im-
plement complex, and prevents the learner
from ever being able to ufe them fingly. A
man muft be aukward indeed if he does not
in a few days without this incumbrance mak?
himfelf a tolerable mafter of dibbling.
A middling workman will make two mo-
tions, or four holes, in a fecond.
One dibbler employs three droppers; there-
fore one man and three children are called a
fet. Each dibbler takes three flags, which he
performs upon by ftages thus : He firfl: takes
an outfide flag, and having gone fome yards
upon that, he returns ; not upon the next flag,
jaut upon the other outfide flag of the three ;
and then finilhes his ftage by taking the middle
one, This is done to keep his three droppers
Digitized by
NORFOLK.
4 *
1781.
fully employed, and at the fame time to pre-
vent his filling up the holes with his feet be-
fore the feeds are depofited. Were he to
carry but one flag with him, the droppers
would have to pafs each other repeatedly, and
have three times the ground to walk over;
whereas by the above contrivance they are
always uniformly progreflive, and each child
fnilhes its own flag. ,
'Fhe droppers keep up with their dibblcr,
putting two or three grains of wheat in each
hole (but of peas only one) ; tlie girls carry the
feed in their aprons, the boys in their hats or
other contrivance. Out of thofe they take
about half a handful, and deliver the feed into
the holes throilgh an aperture made between
the firft and fecond fingers. Much time and
patience is neceffary to teach a child to per-
form this petty bufinefs with propriety and
difpatch.
Tke prefent price of dibbling a free light foil
is nine fhillings an acre and beer. It former-
ly was half a guinea. If the foil be ftiff or
ftony, it is now worth more than that money.
The dibbler is a fort of mafter of his fet; for
if'he has not children of his own, he hires his
droppers, giving them fixpence a day each if
expert
23-
DIBBUNO
WHEAT.
blgitized by Google
42
MINUTE S.
Sept,,
23 -
Dir.BUNG
whilst.
expert hands, or threepence a day iflearners ;
tw’o of them being employed on one flag, e^ch
taking one row of holes; fo that he pays for.
dropping, threepence a day for each row of
holes. An expert dibbler will " hole” half an
acre a day, which at nine {billings is four and
fixpence, out of which he pays one {billing and
flxpence to his droppers : but one third of an
acre is reckoned a fair day’s work ; which at
nine {billings an acre is three {billings ; out of
which paying one fliilling and fixpence, he has
one {billing and fixpence left for his own day’s
work.
^^lantity of feed. One buflid to fix pecks an
acre ; and, if the flags crack much in plowing,
ibme throw on lirdf a peck or a peck an acre,
broad-caft, before rolling.
Covering the feed. I'his is ufually done by
going twice in a place with a bufli-harrow,
made by drawing thorns into a gate or a large
hurdle. Either, of thefe however Mr. B. fays,
and with realbn, makes too large an Implement;
for in fo large a fpacc as dris covers at once,
tliere will be protuberances which it will lay
hold of too much, and probably pull up, and
hollows which it will wholly mil's. He has
ufually preferred a v/nggon ladder, wludi does
no^
Digitized by Google
NORFOLK.
43
1.781.
not cover more than four or five flags at once ; 23.
and to finifli this bufinefs more completely, he dibbling
always carries a fort of broom in his own hand,
when overlooking tlie work-people ; in order
to cover more elfe£lually any part which may
be partially mifled.
The advantages held cut. There is a faving
of about a bufhel and a half of feed j which,
when wheat is fix fhillings or upwards, is alone
an equivalent to the extra expence of dibbling.
The rolling and treading is efteemed highly
Serviceable to the light lands of this country.
The edges of the flags being intimately
united by the rolling and the trampling, and
the remaining fifllires being filled up by the
harrow, the grafies are thereby thought to be
kept under ; and fliould feed w'eeds appear in
the fpring, tfie hoe has free admifilon between
double row and double row, to extirpate them ;
an operation, however, which I underftand fel-?
dom takes place.
The feed being wholly buried in the body of
the flag, there is no f‘ under corn the plants
are uniformly vigorous; the ftraw, collectively,
is confequently ftouter, and the grain more
even, than that which is ufually produced from
lowing the feed bfoadcaft over the rough flag.
r • For
Digitized by Google
44
MINUTES.
Sept.
23 *
pipnu.vc
WHIAT.
For in this cafe, part of the feed falls through
between the flags, and being there too deeply
buried by the harrows, tlie young plants are
longer in reaching the furface than are thole
from the feed which happens to fall in a more
favourable fituation ; and which thereby gain
an afcendancy they never lofe ; hence a num-
ber of underling plants, and hence the fmall
Ibrivellcd grains, which render die fample un-
fightlv and unfaleable.
Another good effedl remains to be noticed,
the employment of the poor ; and whedier we
view this in a moral, a political, or a private
point of view, it is equally defirable. For the
poor’s rates of a country village fall principally
on the farmer j and if he does not employ dre
poor, he m.ufl: fupport them in idlenefs ; more
efpecially children. — 'Mr. B. fays, that in the
circle above-mentioned wheat feed-time is con-
fidcrcd, by the poor man, as a fecond harveft.
Mr. Smith, of Heavingham, gives a
fomewhat different account refpecting the ad-
vantages of dibbling wheat. He fays, that he
lias frequently had eight or ten aci'es of dibbled
whv"at in a year j that he has ufually made the
holes as thick as they could fland, fo as not to
disfigure or interfere v.'ith one another j and has
dropped
Digitized by Google
< ^
1781.
NORFOLK.
+S
dropped two buihels, at the expence of twelve
or fourteen Ihillings an acre.
He is clearly of opinion, that dibbling wheat
makes the land foul; efpecialiy if it is not
dibbled thick ; and gives a very good reafon
for this opinion ; namely, where corn is thin
weeds will be thick. He is pofitive that the
grafs gets up more among wheat which is
dibbled than among that which is Ibwn broad-
caft over the rough flag of one plowing; add-
ing, that after dibbled wheat he has ufu.ally
been obliged to fow turneps the next year,
inftead of firft taking a crop of barley ; the
common practice of this part of the country.
He however acknowledges fully, that the draw
of dibbled wheat is ftouter, and the grain even-
er, and of a better quality, than that from w heat
Ibwn broadcafl: after any procefs whatever.
Mr. John Baker, of Southreps, fpirited and
judicious as he is in matters of hulbandr}^ has
never had a fufficiently good opinion of dib-
bling wheat to give it a trial ; not even by way
of experiment. His cliief objefVion to it is,
that in this country, W'here the foil is fnallow,
and the lays generally graffy, v/he;it cannot be
fown in any manner with propriety on* one
plowing.
has
2
DIBBLING
WHEAT. ■
Digitized by Google
46
MINUTES:
Sept;
23 *
DIBBLINO
VHEAT.
i . has tried it nvo or tlirec
different times : the firfl trial was on a piece of
good land, with about three pecks of feed an
acre : the crop goodj and flood when moft of
the wheats in the county were lodged. — The
laft was on a light lhallow foil: it ploved
greatly too thin : not half a crop;
From the fum of this information the dib-
bling of wheat appears to be peculiarly adapted
to rich deep foils j on which three or four pecks
an acre dibbled early, may fpread fufficiently
for a full crop : whereas light, weak, fhallo-W
foils, which have lain two or three years, and
have become grafiy, require an additional
quantity of feed, and confcquently an addition
of labour, otherv’ife the plants are not able to
reach each other; and the grades of courfe find
their way up betw'cen them ; by which means
the crop is injured, and the foil rendered foul.-
Dropping being the mod difficult part of the
bufinefs, it feems to be ineligible to begin with
wheat ; the grains of which being fmall and
Irregular, are, to a learner, difficult and dif-
agreeable to feparate ; whereas thole of peas,
being larger round and llippery, are more
agrfieable to the touch, and more eafily parted
in the hand ; fo as to drop one or any other
given number into each hole.
Digitized by Gi
1781.
NORFOLK.
47
It further feems ineligible to fend children
into the field, in any cafe, until they have prac-
tifcd, at home, in the art of fcparating the feeds;
by which precaution a wafte of feed, and a dif-
figurement at lead of the crop, may be pre-
vented. For the fame reafon it feems proper,
that a young dibbler fhould be exercifed on
fallow or other frefii-plowcd ground not in-
tended to be dibbled, before he be admitted
into the field of practice.
24.
October 10. Laft year Mr. John Joy, of
NorthwaHham, having apiece of turnep ground
which miffed, he fowed it with wheat ; and, to
keep his land in courfe, l^id it down with clo-
ver, the feed of which he /owed in autumn, pre-
fently after fowing the wheat.
I faw the feedling plants early in winter;
when they looked remarkably healthy. To-
wards fpring I faw them again ; but fome fe-
vere frofts had cut them entirely down, fo as to
make it doubtful whether they would recover
or not.
I defired Mr. Joy to acquaint me with the
refult ; and yefterday we walked over one of
the fined fets of clover that ever g-rew : not
having
23*
DIBBLINO
WHEAT.
SOWING
CLOVER,
Digitized by Google
48
MINUTES.
OcTi ..
24.
SOWIKO
CLOVER.
BUILDINGV
having been yet fed, the heads of the plants
now (land above the ftubble ; but for which a
fine iwath of clover-hay might be mown.
This is the firft inftance I have met with of
fowing clover feed over wheat in autumn.
25 -
October 10. Formerly, a ridiculous prac-
tice has prevailed in this country of running up
the •peaks cf gables above the roof of the houfe.
In many old houfes the coping of the gable
(lands eighteen inches, perhaps two feet above
the tliatch or tiling. The cffedl of it is, the
water of driving rains is collected by this un-
necdFary elevation of the wall, and either
drains through between the gable and the roof,
or, if an offset be made to prevent tiiis, foaks
into the wall itieif.
An old-falhioned “ fine” rotted by this
means, was the other day, upon this eftate,
thrown down by a guft of wind.
I mention the circumftance the nthcr, as diis
abfurd cuflom is not yet altogether laid afide ;
though the flues are now made much lower
than formerly. In Rricl propriety, the coping
of the gable ought to be level with the cover-
ing.
For
■ Digitized 1 , Google
t
%)^i. N O H t O L k.
For common buildings, when the covering
is of tile or Hate ; more efpecially for a leah-to
liable to the drip of the main roof the beft
way is to continue the covering over the gable
or end- Wall ; which is thereby effedlually pre-
ferved at an eafy expence.
26.
October 18. This morning rode to Wit-
ton to fee fome labourers from the Attleborough
fide* of the county dibble wheat. They had
finifiied.
Mr. Elmer fliewed me what they had done
for him : — the plants come up very ftrong, and
look healthy. The quantity of feed, fix pecks
an acre ; dropping four or five grains in a hole.
Mr. E. mentioned one advantage which did
not occur to me before : the fce-dage of the
lays from July to October;
27.
October 25. On Wednefday 17th inftant
went to the firft day of the Fair of Si. Faith's
a village near Norwich, where one of the largeft
fairs in the kingdom i? held annually on that
day for cfieefe, butter, and a variety of wares
but moft efpecially the firft ; which is brought
in great quantities out of Suffolk to fupply thii
VoL. II. E country
4 $
25-
BUILDINGS.
DIBBUNO
WHEAT.
MARKETS.
Digitized by Coogle
M I N U t E S.
Oct,
SO
27-
cheese.
CATTLE.
FAtTlVO
CATTLE.
country during the winter months ; when a
Norfolk cheefe is not to be purchafed in this
part of the county.
The firfl: day of this fair alfo draws together
a good Ihow of cattle ’j principally “ home-
breds ” cither for (lore, or for fatting on
turneps the enfuing winter : for which purpofe,
a Ihow of Scotch bullocks are alfo exhibited
upon a rifing ground at a fmall diftance from
the Fair- he Id.
The fale of Scotch cattle continues for a
fortnight, or longer time, until this qinrter
of the county be fupplied with that fpecies of
ftock. (See Bullocks, Voh I.)
Yefterday, attended the bullock fair.
There are fewer cattle this year than has
been known for fome years paft (about four
hundred upon die Hill yefterday), owing chiefly
-to a great many having been killed by contraft
for the Navy ; a thing not praflifed before in
Scotland ; and there were yefterday a greater
number of buyers in the market than ufual
(about fifty of the principal farmers in the
county) ; fo that the Scotchmen had the game
In their own hands.
The principal drovers are Tate, Wigglcf-
. worth (Lord Galloway’s fteward), Moffatt,
Campbell, Stewart.
It
Digitize
ij8r. N O R F O.L K.
It is aftonilliing to fee the Rate and condition
-of the cattle : they look as frefli and as fleek
as if they had not travelled a mile from home :
fome of them tolerable beef. Even fo high as
eleven pounds a piece was afked for fome bul-
locks i it was however to choofe four out of a
large drove ; but ten pounds was afked to draw
fifteen or twenty. ^ •
Mr. John Baker bought fix fpayed heifersi
which he drew out of a lot of thirty, at 7/. 1 5^.
a head ; and another neighbour drew twenty-
one of the remainder of the lot at 7/. a piece :
he afterwards bought feven of an inferior qua-
lity at 6/.
There were half a fcore in the fair fo low as
V. but the price in general ran from 6/. to 9/.
a head, for cattle which will fat to from forty
to fixty ftone ; but high as thefe prices are,
Mr. Tate (the oldeft drover) fays, he has
known them, fome years agOj twenty or thirty
fhillings a head dearer than they are^ even this
year.
Each drover hires meadows oi* grazing-
grounds in proportion to his quantity of cattle j
—the farmers in the neighbourhood preferving
for the purpofe a full bite of grafs ; for which
the Scotchmen pay very amply. The charges
on fak mufr run high. The number of at-
E 2 tcndants>
27 -
fair OF
ST. FAITmS^
\
Digitized by Google
'S»
27 -
fair OF
}T. FAITH’S.
DIBBLING
WHEAT.
MINUTES. Oct.
tendants, the high price of grafs, and treat-
ing the farmers, “ to the amount perhaps of a
couple of guineas a day,” muft lower the neat
proceeds very confiderably, even of each bul-
lock taken feparately *.
The drovers do not bring their whole ftock
trpon the “ Bullock Hill” at once ; but let
them remain in the paftures until they arc
wanted j nor do they bring very large droves
at once into the country ; but keep them back
in Lincolnfhire, or perhaps in Scotland, undl ,
they fee how the demand is likely to prove.
I did not learn the annual demand, on a par
of years ; but was told that Tate alone brings
fomc thoufands, every year, into this country.
The larger bullocks are principally of the
Galloway polled breed, and moft of them very
handfome j in general, four or five years old ■,
moftly black, fome brindled, fome dun, and
fome few red. (Sec article Bullocks, Vol. I.)
28.
October 27. This morning rode again
to Witton to fee fome work-people dibble
wheat ; and fortunately found them at work.
• The charges of drift from Scotland to Norfolk are,
I have been told, from five ihillings to fifteen {hilling's
a head, according to the fuse of the bullock.
One
Digitized bv G
1781. NORFOLK.
- One man and one young woman dibbled,
while three women and three girls dropped.
They proceeded thus : the man carried three
flags, the women two. The man was followed
by one woman, taking the firft flag, and three
girls taking among them the remaining two.
The woman was followed by the other two
women, each of them taking one flag. . When
the weather holds fair, the fct do about three
quarters of an acre a day, at ten {hillings and
lixpence an acre.
j The man, the woman dibbler, and the two
women “ head droppers,” come from the Suf-
folk fide of the county : the other woman and
the girls are of this country j this being
their firft feafon. One of them drops very
badly ; fometimes putting fix or feven ker-
nels” in a hole j befides fcattering a great
many upon the furface. This Ihews the im-
propriety of fuffering children to come untu-
tored into the field. The head droppers do it
very quick and very neatly ; dropping two,
three or four kernels in each l^ole j and abqut
five pecks an acre.
The diftance of the holes, and the method
of dibbling and dropping (except the arrange-
picnt of the droppers), exactly the fiune as de*
Ei 3 fcribc4
S%
28.
DIBBLINO
WHEAT.
Digitized by Google |
i4'
28.
PIBBUNG
WHEAT.
M,I N U T E S. - CkT..
fcribed by Mr. Barnard j whofe account is, J
am now fully convinced, a very faithful one.
The feed was brined and limed.
The droppers carried their feeds in boys
hats fewed up about half way acrofs, leaving
an opening fufficient for the hand, with a ftring
by way of a bow or handle. A bufliel, with
the feed in it, ftood in the middle of the clofc ;
out of this they repleniihed their hats, every
time they paffed it.
The foil lightifli loam (too light I am afraid
to be dibbled with wheat), but had been marled
laft year. It is a fecond year’s lay, and was
paflured this fummer.
It is plowed fleet, and very badly, the flags
being much broken, and very uneven were it
plowed a little deeper, which I apprehend it
might be with fafety, the flags would not break
fo much, and there would be a better bed for
the feed. The dibblers are obliged to keep a
light hand, and make their holes lhallow, left
otherwifc they fhould ftrike their dibbles quite
through the flags.
The flags are rolled before and " bufhed’*
after dibbling j the latter with a harrow made
pf a ftrong large hurdle, covering better thaii
half a rod at once.
The
Digitized by Googk
1781.
NORFOLK.
u
The plow and roller keep time with the dib-
bles j for if much rain fall upon the flags Aey
daub, and are difncult to dibble j if the wea-
ther prove dry, the fand runs in, and fills up
tlie holes as fall as they are made.
29.
October 28. In May laft, I made an ex-
peument with lime for turnepSi by Ipreading a
chaldron of lime (at the rate of three chaldrons
an acre) acrofs each of two pieces of turnep
fallow, and marked the ftripes with flumps.
No apparent benefit arofe from the lime, un-
,til the late heavy rains fell ; fince which the,
plants have flourifhed, and the good effed of
the lime is become evident.
In March laft I alfo made a fimilar experi-
ment with lime for barley ; but the crop did
not, in any ftage, receive apparent benefit from
it. The fummer, until after the barley bad
finiflied its growth, was dry.
In the experiment with lime for wheat (fee
Min. 18.) the crop received no apparent be-
nefit from the lime untU the foil had been
moiftened with fummer rains,
l^rom thefe and other obfervations I am of
opinion, that lime does not adl as a manuft
£ 4 uiuil
28.
DIBBLING
WHEAT.
MANtJRl.
TURNEPS,
BARLEY.
WHEAT.
UM¥.
Digitized by Coogle
MINUTES.
Oct.
56
29 -
lime.
FURZE-
FOOIK
until it has been thoroughly flaked in the
foil f. andj from the laft mentioned incident, it
feems as if the rains of Jammer were neceffary
to promote its operation.
30 -
NbvEMBER 6. In a furze ground, in which
a large plot was cut down lafl winter, there is
now a crop of young ftioots from two to twc>
and a half feet high ; if thefe were now mown
(which if the ftubs be cut tolerably level they
might be with great eafe), there would be I
apprehend two load of tender fucculent herb-
age an acre.
* If furze tops be that hearty and wholefome*
food they arc reprefented to be, how caflly and
with what advantage they might be in this
manner collefted : Cut the ftubs low and level j
mow j and bruife the herbage with a broad
wooden wheel in the cyder-mill manner.
Lands which will afford no other crop will
produce furze j and although poor lands would
not throw up fhoots like thofe alluded to,
the crop might, no doubt, be mown, and
the fhoots, if very fhort, be collefted in a re-
ceptacle at the heel of the fitlrc.
I men-
f
Digitized by
/
VjSt. NORFOLK.
I mention this incident, and communicate my
rcfledlions upon it, the rather, as I have not met,
either in theory or praftice, with the idea of
collecting furze-food with the fithe ; tlie only
thing wanted, perhaps, to bring it into com-
mon uie.
31*
’ November io. The Bullock Hill at St.
Faith’s is laid to receive no benefit from the
teatbeoi the bullocks, which every year are
(hewn upon it daily, during a fortnight or three
wepks.
This year it was wheat; and if one may
judge from the fhibble (notwithftanding the
wheat was dupged for), the crop was a very
indifferent one. — The foil alightifhfandyloam.
This is an interefting fadt. It is faid to be
owing to the worchleffnefs of the teathe of
drove bullocks.” This I mucl> doubt, how-
ever; for the bullocks being many of them iq
high cafe, and kept in grazing-grounds about
St. Faith’s, fome of them perhaps within a
quarter of a mile of the Hill, the driving is
little more than the driving of fheep to a fold.
Some of them m^y> no doubt, come onto the
Hill immediately from Scotland; and they are
all of them of courfe driven more or lefs ; and
;hcrc may be Jams truth in this opinion.
That
S7
30-
furze.
FOOD.
manure,
Digitized by Coogle
38
Nov.
3 ?-
TAWSTEAD
i£ATH£.
KAMURE.
•MINUTES.
That the teathe oflean ftock, and more par-
ticularly of cows, is much inferior to that of
fatting bullocks, is faft univerfally acknow-
ledged throughout this county ; and this may-
in fome meafur^ be accounted for from the
oleaginous matter carried off by the milk of,
cows, and imbibed by die vafcular carcafes of
lean ftock in general. On the fame principle,
if ftock be hard driven, and much exhaufted by
perfpiration, and want of regular nourilhment,
their teathe may become iiifipid and of little
ufc to land ; confequently this reafoning may ir^
part be applicable to the Bullock Hill at St.
Faith’s; but, as before has been obftrved, there
are numbers that come in good condition, and
from good paftui es, at a very fmall diftance
from the Fair-hill, and there is no obvious rea-
fon why the teathe of thofe fliould not be nearly
equal to that of other fatting cattle: therefore,
upon the whole, it feems probable that driving
alone does not produce this interefting fadl.
May we not venture to think itpofilble, that
land may be fatiated, or dred, even of the diuig •
of cattle ? The Hill in queftion has been the
fite of a large fair for cattle, during time im-
memorial ; perhaps, were the fair removed and
the foil manured with lime, marl, or fuch other
Digitized by G
178?. N O R F.O L ”K. •
new manure as experience would point out, it
might continue to throw out great crops for
many years.
This is a fubjeft worth inyeftigating ; for
upon old grazing-grounds, which have been
fed and teathed with catde during a length of-
time, the dung which falls from them cannot,
pn tills hypothefis, be of any ufe to the land y
confequently the ftock may, without injury to
fhe pafture, be driven off in the night-time to
teathe fome arable land or the dung may,
with advantage, be collefted and carried off ;
whilft by mould, afhes, loot,- 6cc. the grafs-
land may receive improvement.
33 -
November 17. To-day, compleated the
“ roofing” of a reeded barn.
I have attended particularly to the method of
laying the reed, and of fetting on the “ roof-
ing” of this building.
The method of laying reed is this :
No laths being made ufe of, a little of the
longed and flouted of the' reed is fcattered irre-
gularly acrofs the naked Ijjars, as a foundation
to lay die main coat upon : this partial gauze-
like covering is called the “ fleaking.”
• ' On
\
31 -
manure, ■
CRASSLAUn.,
THATCHINQ
WITH REED.
Digitized by Coogle
1
6o
32 *
LAVINO
MINUTES.- Nov,
On this (leaking the main covering is laid,
and faftened down to the fpars by means of long
rods — provincially, “ fvrays” — laid acrofs the
middle of the reed, and tied to the fpars with
rope yarn^ or with bramble bonds which,
formerly, were much in ufc j but which are
now pretty nearly laid afide, efpccially for new
roofs.
Reed is not laid on in longitudinal courfes,
in the manner that ftraw thatch is ufually put
on, nor is the whole eaves fet at once. The
workman begins at the lower corner of the
roof, on his right hand for inftance, and keeps
an irregular diagonal line, or face, until
reach the upper corner to his left.
A narrow eaves- board being nailed acrofs die
feet of the fpars, and fomc fleaking fcattered
on, the thatcher begins to “fet his caves,” by
laying a coat of reed, eight or ten inches thick,
with the heads refting upon the fleaking, and
the butts upon the caves-hoard. He then lays
on his fway (a rod about the fize of a fmall
e^er) about fix or eight inches from the lo\ycr
points of the reed i whilft his afliftant, on the
infidcj.runs a needle, threaded with rope yarn,
flofc to the fpar; and, in this cafe, eiofe to
fhc upper edge of the eaves-board. Tha
tliatcher
Digitized by Google
.1781. N O R F O L it.
thatcher draws it through on one fide of A'i
fway, and enters it again On the contrary fide,
both of the fway and of the Ipat : ' the affiftani
draws it through j unthreads it ; and, with the
two ends of the yarn, makes a knot round the
fpar; thereby drawing the fw'ay, and confe-*
■quently the reed, tight down to die roof I
whilft tlie thatcher above, beating the fway
and prcfTmg it down, aflifts in makiog the
work the firmer. The affiftant having made
good the knot below, he proceeds with another
length of thread to the next fpar ; and fo on
till the fway be bound dov/n the whole length ;
namely, eight or ten feet.
Another ftratum of reed is now laid on, up»
on the firft, fo as to make the end re coat eigh-
teen or twenty inches thick at the butts ; and
another {yrsy laid along, and bound down,
about twelve inches abovc'die firft.
The caves being thus completely fet, they
are adjufted and formed; not iquare with the
Ipars, but nearly horizontal : nor are they
formed by cutting; but by “driving” them
with a “legget;” a tool made of a board
eight or nine inches fquare, with a handle two
fset long, fixed upon the back of it, obliquely,
in the manner of the tool ufed by gardeners in
j . ' \ beating
ti
LAVma
REED.
Digitized by Coogle
62
32 -
LAYINCJ •
JUtD.
MINUTES. Nov.
braring turf. .The face of die Icgget is let
with large -headed nails to render it rough, and
make it lay hold of the butts of die reed.
Another layer of reed Is laid on, and bound
down by another fway, fomewhat lliorter thad
the laft i and placed eighteen ot twenty inches
above it ; and above this another and anotheri
continuing to fhorten the fways until they be
brought oft to nothing, and a triangular cornef
of thatching formed.
After this, the fways are ufed tiieir whole
length, whatever it happens to Be, until the
workman arrives at the finilhing corner.
By proceeding in this irregular manner feams
between the courfes are prevented j and unne-
celTary Ihifting of ladders avoided.
The face of the roof is formed and adjufted;
like the eaveSj by driving the reed with the
legget ; which operation; if performed by a
’ good workman} not only gives the roof a beau-
tiful polifhed furface, but at the fame time
faftens the reed 5 which, being thickeft to-
wards die butts, becomes, like a tapering pin,
the tighter the farther it is driven.
. Reed running from four to fix or eight feet
long, the heads meet at the ridge of the roof,
wliilfl: the butts are ftill at a diftance from each
other.
Digitized by Goo<^U
i^8t. NORFOLK.
other. For this rcafon, as well as for that of
the wear being lefs toward the ridge, the
Ihortcft (which is generally the worft) reed is
faved for the upper part of the roof. But even
fuppofing the uppermoft courfes to be only
four feet long, and that the heads (belonging
to the two fides) be interwoven in fome degree
with each other, the butts will ftill remain fix
or feven rfeet afunder ; and the ridge of the
roof confequently be left in a great meafure
expofed'to the weather.
To remedy this inconveniehey, and to give
a finilh to* the ridge, a cap — provincially, a
roof”-^f ftraw is fet on in a mafterly, but
in an expenfiv* manner.
In this operation, the workman begins by
bringing the roof to an angle, with ftraw laid
long-way upon' the ricige, in the manner in
which a rick is topt up j and to render it firm,
to keep it in its place, and to prevent the wind
from blowing it off, or ruftling it, he pegs it
down (lightly with “ double broaches j” name-
ly, cleft twigs, nvo feet long, and as thick as
the finger, lharpened at both ends, bent dou-
ble ; perhaps with a twift in the crown j and
perhaps barbed, by partial chops on the fides,
to make them hold in the better.
This
32.
LAYINO
REED.
SETTING ON
ROOFEETS.
Digitized by Coogle
6 +
MINUTES.
Nor;
32. This done, the workman lays a coat of
SETTING ON ftraight ftraw^ fix or eight inches thick, acrofs
ROOFUTS. ridge ; beginning, on either fide, at the upf*- ,
permoft butts of the reed, and finifhing with
ftraight handfuls laid evenly acrofs the top of
the ridge.
Having laid a length of about four feet in
this manner^ he proceeds to faften it firmly
down, fo as to render it proof againft wind and
rain. This is done by laying a “broachen
ligger” (a quarter-cleft rod as thick as the
finger, and four feet in length) along the mid-
dle of the ridge, pegging it down at every four
inches with a double broach, which is firft
thruft down with the hands, and afterwards
driven with the legget, or with a mallet ufed
for this purpofc* The middle ligger bein^
firmly laid, the thatehtr fmooths down the
ftraw with a rake and his hands, about eight or
nine inches on one fide, and, at fix inches from
the firft, lays another ligger, and pegs it down
with a fimilar number of double broaches;
thus proceeding to fmooth the ftl^w, and to
faften on liggers at every fix inches, until he
reach the bottom of tlie cap. One fide finifti-
ed, the other is treated in the fame manner j
and tl^e firft length being completed, another
and anotl'.er length is laid, and finifhed ais the
firft i
Digitized by GoogI
NORFOLK.
65
1781.
firft j until the other end of the ridge be
reached.
He then cuts off the tails of the ftraw, fquare
and neatly with a pair of Ihears, level with the
uppermoft butts of the reed j above which the
cap (or moft properly the rooflet) Ihews an
eaves, of about fix inches thick.
Laftly, he fweeps the fides of the main roof
with a bough of holly ; and the work is com-
pleted. — (For the expence, fee Buildings
and Repairs, Vol. I.)
33 *
November 17. A very fecurc way of laying
pan-tiles is fometimes pradifed in this country.
Having nailed on the pantile laths, the tiler
diftributes reeds, fo as juft to touch each other,
between the pantile-laths j and, to keep them
in their place, inferts one end of a piece of old
plaftering lath, or other Iplinter, under the
tyling lath j prefles it down upon the reed j
and inferts the other end under the next lath j
weaving, as it were, thefe Iplinters between the
pandle laths and the reed.
Upon the reed he fpreads a coat of mortar,
and on this lays the tiles.
For dairy or other leanto’s, and for common
garrets, the reed is covered on the infide with
Vol. II. F a coat
32*
SETTING ON
ROOFLETS.
BUILDINGS.
Digitized by Google
I
66
33 -
laying
PAN.TILES.
HEDGES,
MINUTES. Nov.
a coat of plaftering j which, with the Ipars,
&c. being white- wafhed, gives a neat appear-
ance at a very trifling expence ; and keeps the
room as free from duft as if it were lathed and
ceiled.
This is not a common pradlice ; but it is a
very good one ; and is much cheaper dian the.
ordinary pradtice of “ interlathing” with
plaftering laths.
34 *
.. November. 19. It is not the carlieft-donc
hedging which makes the ftrongeft Ihoots from
the ftubs. A piece of hedging was done on the
lands late Mr. ’s in the month of April.
The face of the ditch ftands remarkably
well j and the (hoots of hawthorn, cut down
clofe to the face, are uncommonly numerous,
and large j fome of them being near five feet
high.
Periiaps there is an advantage in cutting
thorns at that time of the year. When they
have been cut off in winter, the fpring air has
no furface to adt upon j except die ftump,
which barely fliews its head above ground ;
whereas thofe which ftand till the fap begins
to fiir,have, by their quantity of furface, roufed
the
Digitized by Coogl
the fap in the root, without having yet cx-
haufted any of it j confequendy when the top is
taken off, the ftub throws out many and
ftrong Ihoots.
Therefore, if this reafoning be good, there
is a judicious moment for cutting hedges and
underwoods ; namely, when the fap has begun
to rife, but before any part of it has been ex-
haufted : and perhaps this time is when the
tree or fhrub is beginning to bud i the young
quick againft Suffield Common was cut in this
Hate, and the Ihoots are remarkably ftrong *,
35 -
November 2ji Having frequently feen the
tnifehiefs done to the leanto porches of barns ;
by loads of corn being drawn furioufly againft
them in harveft ; I have long tvifhcd to try
fome method of prevention.
In building a new barn at Antingham, 1
threw the ends of an old beam into the jambs
of the fide-walls ; fo as to reach acrofs the
floor, at the entrance of the porch low enough
• There is, however, a difadvantage in cutting thorn*
intended for hedging materials in this date ; as they
are lefs durable than when they are cut in winter, when
the fap is down.
t Fa to
34 -
time OF
CUTTING
HEDGE-
Wood.
BUILDING,
CHECKBEAM
Digitized by
68
Nbr*
35 *
CHECKBEAM
\
MINUTES.
to take the top of the load, and high enough to
be out of the way of the flail ; fetting a man with
his flail to give the workmen the proper height.
i find, however, that either the thralher, or
the bricklayer has made a miftake ; for yefter-
day the thraflier told me, that he frequently
hits his flail againft the beam.
The height from the floor, I find, is nine
feet i fix inches more, he fays, would be high
enough i however, he being a middle-fized
man, a foot may be neceflary: and ten feet'
may perhaps be taken as a general height.
The mifchief is ufually done by large loads j
to draw in which (efpecially if the barn floor
lies much higher than the yard) the horfes are
obliged to exert their utmoft ftrength j but the
load being once landed upon the floor, no far-
ther exertion is neceflary neverthelefs the
horfes being roufed and Ipiritcd, or not under
command, rulh furioufly on till they come to a
check; which is generally the roof of the porch.
A fmall load requires no extraordinary exer-
tion, but is drawn in deliberately, and the hor-
fes of courfe are flopped at pleafure. The height
of a pair of full-fized barn-doors is fourteen
feet, and a high load will nearly touch the plate.
Twelve feet high is but a fmall load. There-
fore,
%
. Digitized by CiHylt
NORFOLK.
69
1781.
fore, in every refpeft, ten feet high is a pro-
per height for a Check-Beam.
36.
November 25. Oaks are obferved to grow
beft, and make the fineft plants and the moft
beautiful trees, when they are raifed undifturb-
cd from the acorn. The oak having naturally
a ftrong tap root, it is almoft certain death to
remove a large plant, which has not been
traiiiplanted, or tapped, whilft young ; never-
thclels if the tap root has been properly taken
off from the feedling plant, it may afterwards
be removed at pleafure with fafety.
Oaks may be tapped by taking up the
plants and taking off the tap root with a knife,
or they may be tapped as they ftand, with a
tapping iron, or even a common fpade ground
to an edge. This, being introduced at a pro-
per depth beneath the furface of the ground,
cuts off the tap root j leaving the principal part
of the lateral horizontal fibres undifturbed. — ?
When the plants have got large (four or five
years old for inftance), this is perhaps the fafeft
way of treating them ; for the lateral fhoots, in
this cafe, receive no check whatever, but con-
tinue to throw up a regular fupply of fap to the
F 3 plant i
35 *
checkbeam
PLANT JNO.
Digitized by Coogle
7 °
MINUTES.
Nor,
36-
TAPPING
OAKLINGS,
PLANTING.
plantj whereas by taking them up, and remov-
ing them into a freih fituation, they are feveral
days before they begin to work j in which time
the plant may receive irrecoverable injury.
A feed-bed of oaklings, five years old, I
treated in this manner. In March- April, tap-
ped them all with common fpades, ground
fharp; pruned fudi as were in any degree
fir -ightj and headed down the reft near the
groi.nd, to throw out ftraight ftioots to be
trained.
Not a plant I fee is dead.
Had there been more of them cut down, the ,
eftedt v/ould have been ftill better.
37 -
November 25. A ftriking inftance of fuc-
cefs in tranjplanting large oaks for ftandards oc-
curs on Gunton Common. Scarcely a plant,
of fome thoufands, has mifearried, and very
few which do not P.ourifti.
A perfon, who had fome (hare in the bufi-
nefs of this plantation, tells me, that it was the
cmidoyment of two men and a couple of hor-
fes, almoft aU the firft fummef after they were
planted, to water them ; not by a pailfull, but
by a hogfhead, at once which ferved for the
fupimer.
This
Digitized by Google '
ijSi. NORFOLK.
This was a rational method j a pailfull only
tantalizes and balks the plant ; whereas a hogf-
head depofited at its root affords a natural and
regular fupply, to be drawn up leifurely by the
fun, during the courfe of the fummer.
38.
November 25. The afli delights in a moiff
fituation, and will thrive even in an undrained
moory foil. How healthy and luxuriant are
thofe on Gunton Common, which grow upon a
low moory fwampy part ; almoft upon a level
with die water : and even thofe on the ozier-
beds vie with the aquatics.
The afli is a diirfty plant. The road under
an afh is obferved to be always comparatively
dry i and it is probably from this abforbent
nature, that it is fo great an enemy to the her-
baceous tribe. Turneps, a fucculent plant,
ftarves under the afli j and corn never thrives
in its neighbourhood. — Clover, however,^^^^
to be an exception to this theory.
It is, neverthelefs, an undoubted fadl, that
the afli is a deftrudive enemy on arable land j
and it is highly improper to plant it in hedges.
It ought to be planted in wafte nooks and cor-
ners j or perhaps, for two reafons, on unim-
F 4 provable '
yr
37 -
planting.
THE ASH. "
Digitized by Coogl
7 *
MINUTES.
Nor.'
38 -
THE ASH.
THE ALDER.
MARKETS,
provable fwamps, and on the fpringy fides of
hills: it would be rendering them ufeful as
fites of plantations ; and, perhaps, by its ab-
forbent nature, would render them firm.
The alder, on the contrary, is obferved ta
make the ground it grows on ftill more rotten
and boggy : it ought therefore, for two rea->
fons, never to be planted j namely, the injury
to the land, and its own worthleffiiefs.
39 .
November i6. This morning took a ride
to fee Hclt Fair.
This is a fair for " homebreds,” or Norfolk
ftock only ; no Scotch drovers frequenting it.
A neighbour bought nine three -year-olds
(coming) five of them fteers, four fpayed hei-
fers, forward in flelh, at 4 /. yj. 6d. apiece.
A farmer in the neighbourhood bought two
of the fame age, but lean, though krger, and
not out of condition, for 7 /.
Some kind-growing two-year-olds (coming )
were afked fiftyfive fhillings a piece for.
Cows and calve§ fell very low in Norfolk.
They were fold today from about fiftyfive {hil-
lings to three pounds ten fliillings a couple.
It is alfo obfervable, that lean ftock — "ftraw-
j^cks” — fell very low in tlris country, at tliis
time
Digitized by t', .
f
1781. N O R F O L Ki
time of the year ; while fuch as arc forward
enough to be finifhed with turneps, or with the
addition of a little fpnng grals, fo as to be got
early to market, fetch aftonilhing prices. —
Witnefs the forward cattle today, and the bul-
locks ^t St. Faith’s.
The reafon is this : — A farmer has fo many
tnore acres of turneps than he wants for his
prefent ftock j — he muft therefore either run
the rifque of felling his turneps, or buy ftock
which he can finiih in the fpring, otlierwife he
will be overftocked the next year.
It is obfervable that the heifers (of the nine
abovementioned) are forwarder than the fteers;
infomuch that the purchafer hopes to finiih
them with turneps ; but the fteers, he expefts,
will require fome grafs at the fpring of the year.
It was an obfervation made, and agreed to, tliat
the grazing grounds, about FouKham, (where
thefe came from) fatten heifers fafter than they
do fteers. In corroboration, a byftander faid,
that he this year fent a parcel of young ftock
to thefe grounds; the heifers came home almoft
tpeat, the fteers little better than when they
went.
This, if a fact, is highly Interefting.
Novemb'eh
73
39 -
holt FVUOU
CATTLE.
CEASSLAIia
Digitized by Coogle
14
MINUTES.
40.
FATTING
CATTU^
,Noy»
\ .
40.
No vE M B E R 2 8 . How profitable are the lit-
tie JJle-of-Sky Cattle to the Norfolk farmer,
•who has rough meadows for them to run in ?
had eleven bought laft Hempton-
green fair (juft twelve months ago) for three
guineas a piece. ^Thcy were kept entirely on
ftraw and ruftiy grafs, which nothing clfe would
have eaten, until the month of May ; when
they were turned into fome Norfolk meadows,
(worth about ten Ibillings an acre) where they
remained until September: fincc when they
have been at good lattermath. They are now
fome of them quite fat, and the reft nearly fo ;
one with another, they are worth about fix
pounds a piece.
Suppofing each occupied an acre of meadow,
W'hich (with town charges) reckon at o 12 o
Straw over and above the dung o 50
Ten weeks lattermath, attwofiiil-
lings (the price for fuch cattle) i 00
£i 17 o
A neighbouring farmer bought a parcel at
the fame time, and at the fame price ; allb
fome refufe ones fo low as five-and-twenty
Ihillings
Digitizediy Googic
NORFOLK.
75
1781.
(hillings a piece ; two of which he fold a few
days ago for eleven pounds four Ihillings.
Thefe, however, were followers at turncps
the firft wioter. In fummer they were fcnt to
a grazing ground : fince harveft they have been
in the ftubble and “ rowens,” at good keep.
His other bullocks had nothing but ftraw in
winter; were Ihifted about in the meadows
during fummer ; fince harveft they have been
in the ftubbles; and are now at turneps. —
They have grown much, and are now getting
on very faft.
It is obfervable, however, that all thefe cat-
tle were bought in very cheap.
41.
December i. A prudent farmer, in this
Diftrift, makes a very proper diftindlion be-
tween laying up “ wheat-riggs” where there
are phealimts, and where there are none. A
part of his farm, tolerably free from game, he
lays up in fix-furrow work ; but towards the
covers, in wide flat beds ; having found by ex-
perience that pheafants always begin to fcrapc
on the fides of the furrows, where they can ea-
fily come at the grain ; t!ie mould being there
Joofc, and eafily falls back into the furrows ;
therefore.
40.
FATTING
CA1TJ.E.
WHEAT*
GAME.
Digitized by Coogle
76
MINUTES.
Dec.
41.
PLOWING
for
PHEASANTS.
therefore the fewer inter-furrows the lefs mis-
chief they are capable of doing : for while they
ferape upon a fiat Surface, “ they bury two
grains by Scraping up one j” befides its being
a work of much greater labour to come at them.
He fays he always lays” to lofe the civo
outfide furrows or drills : if, therefore, he laid
his land jn fix-furrow ridges, one third of his
crop mufl: be inevitably loft, at feedtime j be-
fides the depredations he is liable to, during
the winter, and at the approach of harveft,
42.
December 6. The mal-trcatment of hedges
in tins country is painful to look upon ; and
there appears to be only one way of prevent-
ing a Norfolk farmer from deftroying them.
Unnecefiary rcftriiftions, I confefs, are hate-
ful; but to fuffer unnecefiary deftruftion of
things lb efiential to an inclofed eftate as are
live hedges, would be equally unpardonable ;
and I am determined henceforward to ftem, if
fojp.bk, the vile practices, fo prevalent in this
country, of “ outholling” and cutting kid*:’*
• “Outholling” — fcouring outthe ditch — provincially,
the “ holl” — for manure, without returning any part of
the mould to the roots of the quick.— “ Cutting kid;”,
—hacking off the lower boughs of tall hedges ; leaving
wide-
Digitized by Google
NORFOLK.
77
1781,
A regulation of this kind will not be taking
from the farmers the privilege of cutting kids
for their “ paryards,”'nor of collecting mould
for their yards and dunghills ; but it will be
obliging them, while they furnifh themfelves
with thefe two neceflary articles, to do jullice
to their fences.
Under this regiJation the farmer will not
calculate hov/ few rods of ditching he can make
Ihift with ; but how many loads of mould and
hundreds of kid he fhall be in want of. Thus
the intereft of the tenant and drat of the land-
lord will become intimately connected.
43 -
December 14. This autumn, I met with a
fingular inftance of Jawing wheat aftei' turneps
by two-furrowing. (See Soil Process.)
The firft plow fkimmed the furface, and
threw it into the laft-made trench ■, on this fur-
row the feed was fown, and cov^ered with the
bottom furrow brouglit up by the fecond plowj
wide-fpreading tops, to over-hang the young ftioots, and
fmother the underling plants ; rendering, of courfe, the
bottom open and fencelefs ; while the roots cf the fur-
viving tree-like plants, being left naked of mould, thefe,
in length of time, dwindled away for want of a proper
fupply of nourilhmen:. See art. Hedges, vol. I.
the
42.
HEDGES,
SOWING
WHEAT.
Digijized by Google
MINUTES.
78,
43 -
sowing
WHEAT.
MEADOWS.
t)6C*
thefeedfman always keeping between the plows*
and lowing the feed by hand between the furrows.
The plits being taken off very thin, the two
reached only a mean depth j fo that no frelh
foil was brought up.
Two plows and one feedfman finifhed from
an acre to five roods a day. The harrow was
jiifb run over to break the furface, and let the
fecdling plants freely out. The land is laid up
in warps, not in ridges.
This method is fomewhat tedious j but the
plants come up beautifully even, and the fur-
face, of courfe, is free from rubbifh.
The plants do not come up in drills, but
promifeuoufly j occupying the whole furface.
This the Norfolk farmers feem to think pre-
ferable to their Handing in rows: and, no
doubt, the foil in this cafe is the moll uniformly
occupied by the plants.
44.
December 17. The " water- workers’* in
Norfolk have a very expeditious way of fcour-
ing-out old drains, which are grown up with
grafs and filt.
They hrft mark out the edges of the drain*
with a lharp Ipade, or other inllrument, cut-
ting'
Digitized by Googlc
NORFOLK.
79
1781.
ting thro’ the whole depth of the mud. If the
drain be wide, they make another cut along the
middle, and then crofs it, fo as to feparate the
whole into large fquare pieces of three or four
Ipits each.
The workman dten takes a large hook, with
three flat prongs, and a flout long wooden han-
dle — provincially, a “ mud-croom,” — and,
flanding by the fide of the drain, draws out the
“tulTucksj” placing them regularly on either
fide ; and, laflly, with a fharp fliovel, forms tlie
bottom of the drain, and Ihovels out the loofc
mould.
45.
December 18. In my ride, this morning,
I obfcrved r.vo or three inflances of young
hedges w'hich are ruined, through tlie bank’s
being fet injudicioufly on the upper fide of the
ditch.
Ditches on hill fides fliould be made to face
up-hill j efpecially where the fubfoil is fpring}\
For if the fprings work through, under the
bank, tiiey foon undermine and let down the
face, together with tlie layer, into the ditch. —
The outfide of the ditch lliooting in is of much
lef: confequence.
' . J782. Ja-
44.
SCOURINO
DRAINS.
HEDGES.
Digitized by Google
So
MINUTES.
46.
REARING
CATTLE.
RENT-DAYS.
Jai^.
46,
1782. January 9. Obferving, to a good
hufbandman, that his three-year-olds were ra-
ther fmallj he faid, Yes, they are; adding,
tliat his turneps were but indifferent laft year ;
and that he was too eager after bullocks ; bur
he now wifhed he had done better by his ftore
beads : for he always found that they paid bcft
for “ grazing:” — that is, for good keeping.
This was the obfervation of a fenfible, elder-
ly, judicious, capital farmer ; and came imme-
diately from experience,
4 7 ;
January 9. The times of the year for the
receiving of rents fhould be regulated by the
produce of the country, and the objefts of the
farmer’s culture. — He ought not to be obliged
to difpofe of his produce to a difadvantage, nor
fell it under the market price. Nor ought he,
after his money is received or due, to have too
great indulgence ; left he may be tempted to
(peculations ; which, in the end, might hurt
both himfelf and his landlord.
In a corn-country, Chriftmas is of all others
the moft improper time for the farmer to pay
" his
Digm^red by Google
NORFOLK.
fs
his rent at : he has juft time enough to do
himfelf all the injury poffible. Srimulated
by an honeft pride of carrying the whole ba-
lance ; or fearful of the frowns of his landlord ;
he hurries out his corn, unmindful of the low-
nefs of the price, or the wafte he is commit*
ting on his “ ftover.”
Were? he called upon at Michaelmas, he
could not commit this unpardonable wafte :
if at Ladyday, he could have no temptation to
do it. Befides, at Chriftmas, tithe, tradefmen’s
bills, the landtax, and other quarterly rates,
come upon him : and it is not the lofs of the
ftover only, but the mealmen and maltfters,
knowing his fituation, take their advantages.
This year furnilhes a ftriking inftance of the
impropriety of receiving at Chriftmas, in Nor-
folk.
We have hot, yet, had fcarcely fo much as a
hoar froft, nor one flake of fiiow j cattle, in
many places, are even ftill abroad, at grafsj yet
the major part of the tenants of this neighbour-
hood have already thralhcd out three-fourths of
their corn. Many of their yards are covered
feveral feet thick with ftraw, with fcarcely any
intermixture of teathe } and fome of them
without being fo much as trodden.
VoL. ll. G There
' 5 ;
47 -
MNT.DAYS,
V
Digitized by Google
47 *
Hent-days.
minutes. jAif*
■ There Is another evil confequencc, In Nor-
folk, of receiving rents at Chriftmas : it is full
as much as the por farmer can do, with all his
fnifchicf, to raife money for his landlord : he
dares not lay out a {hilling on bullocks to feed
off his turneps ; which he is of courfe obliged
to fell at fuch a price as he can get, and have
them eaten off when, and in what manner, beft
fuits the purchafer ; whereas, had he time to
thralh out his corn deliberately, he would find
money to buy bullocks, and to pay his landlord.
Suppofing the farmer to have paid his lafl
{hilling to his harvcftmen (which God knows
is at prefent the cafe with fanners in general),
his only relburce is confequcntly his crop. He
firil begins upon his wheat, in order to raife
money for his fervants wages, and the. pariih-
rates, at Michaelmas. His feed-wheat muft
next be thraflied out, or purchafed : a few bul-
locks are probably wantedjand the nextquartcr’s
fates, tithe, and tradefmen’s bills, mua be paid
at Chriftmas. Thus without opening one (heaf
for hh landlord, he muft do confiderable in-
jury to his ftover. What then muft be the con-
fequcnce, if, in the fame time, he thrafh out,
in addition thereto, more than his half-year’s
rent ?
How
^ Digitized by Googk
l 78 *». K O R F O L t..
How differently this matter would ftand.
Were tenants mdulged, until the latter end of
Febniary, or the beginning of March.
The bufinefs of the barn would then take its
natural and regular courfc : the fervants wages
and Michaelmas rates being difeharged, and the
feed- wheat and fomc bullocks being provided,
the farmer would^ about the beginning or mid-
dle of December, get his ftock into his yardsi
and begin in earneft upon his barley.
By Chriftmas he would find no difficulty in
difeharging his tithe, tradefmen’s bills, and pa-
rilh-rates ; and would have the two principal
months for thrafhing before him (befides per-
haps a furplus in hand) to raife money for his
landlordi
His rent being cleared tip to Michaelmas,
and his flails ftill being of courfc kept going*
his Eaftcr and Ladyday rates would be regularly
paid j befides a fufficient overplus for the pur-
chafe of fuch clover, or other feeds, as might
be wanted during the Ipring feed-time.
In April and May, his bullocks travel to
market* and, by the beginnmg of June, his
purfe begins again to overflow * but after thii
his receipts are trifling;
The beginning of June, therefore, is the
time when he ought to pay to his landlord as
G a much
83 -
47 -
rent-days.
Digitized by Google
84
MINUTES.
47 -
rent. days.
B\ ILDiNG.
Jait^
much money on account of the current year’s
rent, as would leave him a fq,fHciency (with his •
dairy and other fmall receipts) to pay his Mid-,
fummer rates, and get in his harvcft.
The firft of March and the firft of June
have one peculiar advantage as rent-days j Jtot
only in Norfolk, but in every other country
they do not interfere with quarter-days ; and,
in Norfolk particularly, they are Icifure times
of the year.
48. »
January 10. It is economical to /ay fUfs
on mortar^ or ceil the room they cover j they are'
dtherwife fubjefl to every gull of wind ; not
from its adlion upon the outfide, but from
finding, when pent up on the infide, an eafy
pafiagc'through the covering.
An inflance occurred, the other day : afarm-
lioufe had two or three yards fquare of tiling
blown off by the late winds j not on die wind-
ward, but on the leeward fide of the houlc i
and from over the only room about it which
is not ceiled.
49.
‘ January 10. How ftrong and lafting is
tlie current of cullom 1 The Norfolk farmers,
while
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NORFOLK.
8S
1782.
while com fold high, were affiduous to culti-
vate every inch the plow could reach: old
marl-pits were levelled : nooks and cornets
grubbed, and broken up : and even bogs were
converted into arable land. Grafsland, of
courfe, became wholly out of falhion, and to-
tally neglcded : and. now when corn is low,
the fame praftice ftill prevails : feraps of ara-
ble land are ftill purchafed at more labour than
they are fometimes worth ; while the meadows
are fuffered to remain a difgrace to the coun-
try; notwithftanding they would pay trebly
for improvement.
50.
January ii. The other day, I obferved
in the praftice of 5 fuperior hufbandman the
following method of defraying anthills. With
a common fpade, ground fomewhat fharp>
divided the hill into four quarters. With the
fame inftrument he then pared off the fward of
the quarters, an inch to two inches thick;
leaving the triapgular turves pared off fafl; at
their bafes, folding them back upon the ad-
joining fward. This done, he dug out the
core of the hill ; chopping and fpreading the
(ttoiild abroad; and leaving a hpUow tiafon
G 3 where
49 -
gen. MAN.
farmers.
meadows.
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8 S
MINUTES.
5 ®*
AVT-HItLS.
MEADOWS,
GEN. MAN.
Jak,
where the hill flood, in order to colled the
winter’s rains, and thereby effed a radical cure,
Laftly, the folds of fward were returned as a
cover to the excavation, leaving the furfacc
grafiy, nearly level, and fcarccly difcernible
from the furrounding fward.
This operation is aptly called "geldings’’
and, though not univerfal, is a moft excellent
pradice.
Between Michaelmas and Chriftmas is the
proper time for performing it } for, then, the
excavated mould becomes tempered by the
winter’s rains and frofls; and the folds of
fward have time to unite with the foil, before
the fummer’s drought fet in,
51 *
Januarv 13, What a difgrace, and what ^
field for improvement, are the meadows of this
county ! The farmers hire marlhes and grazing-,
grounds at the diftance of twenty or thirty
miles, and give high prices, when at the fame
time many farmers might, with a common
fhare of attention and management, have them,
at a much cheaper rate, within the limits of
fheir own farms,
: By?
Digitized b,.
K O R F O L K.
But cuftom and prejudice are doughty
• champions to deal with: whilll a Norfolk
former is bellowing more “ coft” upon his
arable land than, at the prelent prices of corn,
he can ever regain from it, he is “ doing rare-
ly well by his land ” but the moment the foot
of improvement Heps onto his grafslands, be
it even to open a few gripes to let off the fur-
face water, the eyes of the country are upon
him ; for he is “ buying his meadows.’'— p
Were he to carry a load of muck from his par-
yard to his meadow land, a llatute of lunacy
vould be the probable confoquence.
Prejudice, however, is not the only thing
^lgainll the improvement of the Norfolk mea-
dows. A want of knowledge in the art of
draining is a fifter caufe ■, for of the few who
attempt to drain their meadows fcarcely any
are acquainted with the method of performing
it properly. They make their drains much
|oo fmall, too numerous, and cut them in im-
proper direftions j nor do they ever go to a
proper depth to do the work effectually ; for
/hould they chance to dip to a bed of gravel
•they have done wonders, and there they ftop-j
for their fpades and “ mud-crooms” can go no
•farther,
G4 Nor
51-
CEN. man. *
OF FARMS,
MEADOWS; •
•' -k
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• V •
B8
5 »-
I^ADOWS.
MINUTES. jAjf,
Nor is the method of drainlrtg the only prrt
of the mifmanagement of the Norfolk fiimeri •
in regard to their meadows,- they do not Hem
to be aware that frejlure is a main improve-
ment of boggy moory land. I have never
feen nor heard of a roller beina drawn over a
meadow flnee I came into Norfolk !
There are, however, k'n^e few c ception*
to this general mal-crO-tmenc of meadows to
be m' t with.
The Rev. Mr. Horney of Swayficld has
drained his meadows in a capital fly le, and ^vlr,
Samuel Barber of Stanninghall is manuring iiis
with foot, &c. and clearintr them from ant-
hilk, furze, alders, and other incumbrances.
This Irft is a gre.it nuifance in meadows ; an
alder not only encumbers the fpot it llands on,
but is allowed, on all hands, to render moory
foil ftiii mere rotten. It is a vile inhabitant o^
or in the neiglibourhood of^ a meadow j for the
feeds being blown about by the wind, they arc
trodden by cattle into tiie foil over tlie area of
the meadow; where fpringing up among the
herbage, the young plants embitter the grai%
Md render it altogether unpalatable to ftock.
In improving meadows, die maiii objevfi: is to
^engage the mould from coUeded ir.oillure:
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178a.
N O R F O L i;.
for while any part of the black moory peat-
bog foil lies in contaft with water, the whole
wiil, like a fponge, be filled with raoifture ;
and it is in v in to attempt to render the fur-
face dry, while tlie bottom remains in water.
Therelbre, drains deeper than the bed of moor
are eflentially neceflary.
Meadows have generally a rivulet running
tlirough them; this, altliough it may have
worn itlclf down to the gravel,, fliould never-
thelefs (as it in general may) be confiderably
deepened ; enough to lower the Jurface of the
water below the moor ; and ftill enough more
to allow for a defeent in the drains to be laid
into it.
The rivulet fiiould be deepened (as Ihould
all “ water- work” be performed) in autumn;
when the foil is in its firineft ftate : not in the
Ipring (as is the almofi univerfal praftice),
when the moor is fopped with water, and the
quickfands all alive.
The rivulet, or other common Qiorc, being
lowered ; and die fand or gravel (if any)
fpread over the adjoining moor (or, if a bad
mould, ufed to level the inequality), and the
liirr'acc-water (If any) let off into the Ihore ;
tl.e meadows ought to remain in this ftate until
the
5 *-
MSAOQWS.
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NORFOLK.
1782.
foil firm, and the fprings arc efFcfhially killed. 51^
This is dividing the cxpence ; doing the bxifi- Weadows,
pels cffeftuaHy ; and treading fijrc ground.
The drains Ihould not be cut, as is generally
jhe cafe, perpendicular to the rivulet j but
cither parallel '^ith it, or, if their mouths be laid
into it, in an oblique dircftion i in order that
they may aft more cfFcc'hially upon die fub-
foil i as well as to clear their mouths the better
at the rivulet.
Nor fliould the open drains be too numerous:
for by that means the roller and carriages ar?
prevented from being turned between them,
Above all, the drains ought to be made of
fufneient fize i their depth fhould be regulated
by the depth of the moor and its fubftratum of
quickfand, and confequendy by the rivulet,
which ought to follow the workman a confidcr-
able way up the new-made dr^ns. Their width
ought to be fufficient to deter ftock from at-
tempting to crofs them ; otherwife the fidesare
foon trodden in, and the ftock endangered.
Nothing is more common than to hear of '
ftock being fmothered in the meadow-drains :
Jaft fummer, a horle was fmothered in a fuite of
meadows, which for a trifling expence might
be made firm enough to bear any ftock, and
fcveral weeks befcre he was found.
The
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f*
5h
MEADOWS.
V
;
MINUTES. Jav.
The utility of larg? wide drains is obvious in
a meadow adjoining to the fuite abovemention-
cd ; a drain fix or eight feet wide, and five or
fix deep, lays dry a meadow of eight or ten
acres : a carriage might, even now, pafs with
fafety by the fide of it,
- If the beds be made lefs than twenty yards
wide, there is not, as has been obferved, room
. to turn a roller or waggon with fafety upon
them ; if, therefore, the open drains, at that
diftance, be not fufficient to make beds of that
. width fufficiently dry and firm, under-drains
fhould be laid into them.
If thedseds be made wider than thirty yards^
_ a carriage will be wanted to let about the mould,
• which rifes out of the new-made drains, and
which will afterwards arife from the parings of
the fides, and the fliovellings of the bottoms.
But if tliey be made within that width, a man
will be able to manure the whole without that
additional expence j for if the mould be call,
in the firft inftance, as faf as may be from
the drains, and be afterwards, in turning it over,
removed ftill farther from them, the farthefl:
Ihovel-fuU will pot require to be caft more than
ten yards.
It is obvious that, in draining a meadow iri
this manner, Ute paltry gripes arid water-furrpw
with
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1782.
93
NORFOLK/
with which meadows in general abound, would’
become ufelefs j and would require to be filled
up with alders, other rubbilh, and dead mould,
dug out of the new drains. The furface mould
however ought, as above intimated, to be re-
Icrved for a better purpofcj namely, to be’
fpread over the finilhed beds as a manure.—
Its effefts on a meadow which, laft year, I
had frequent opportunities of obferving, were
ftriking; it appeared to kill the rufhes and
«dier aquatics j and brought up a thick matt
of white clover, and other luxuriant grafles. '
52 .
Jakuarv 19. A Angular inftance of fat-
ting fwine now occurs in jhis neighbourhood.
The other day, Mr. S. of C. had thirty or
ferty bacon hogs at peas ; put into long open
troughs, in the middle of the yard. Now, he
has fifty or fixty porkers at barley and oats.
The pigs look healthy and well, and, Mr. S.
fays, fat apace. He keeps the yard jvcll-litter-
cd, and they have water to go to.
He fold fifty laft week at the Hill at Nor-
wich at nineteen fhillings and fixpcnce, and
fifty more this week at home at feventeen fhil-
lings.
51 -
meadows.
SWINE.
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9i
Si-
^ATTWAk
r N U T E §» jAifa
luigs. He bought them a few weeks agti at
about half a guinea a head.
He Ihewcd me one which he had killed for
'Wallham market ; the meat was peculiarly de--
iicate, and quite fat enough j it weighed four
ftone, valued at four ftiillings to four Ihillings
and fixpence a ftone.
Mr. Si fays, he not only finds that they fat
Very faft j but that the drovers are particularly
fond of pigs fatted in this manner j they travel
better than fty-fed hogs j. and dp not ftirink fo
much with their journey.
They are making him a valuable yard of
dung, with very little attendance, and without
the cxpence of houfCroom. There is a cart-
flied in the yard, under which they may run in
bad weather. ,
- Mr. S. argues in favor of his plan, that pigs
never do better than when they help them-
fclvcs, as in ftubblesj or at a barley-rick : give
a pig acorns, he fays, in a fty^, and they arc
wafted upon him j but let him pick them up
himfelf under the oak, and he will get fat.
Mr. S. mixes one bulhel of oats to a coomb
of barley ; in order that the pigs may grind the
barley, and thereby prevent its paffing through '
them
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*781. K O R F O t
them wholci It has the defired and, indeed, 4
ftriking efFedl.— Mr. S. broke feveral parcels
of dung, but not the trace of a whole grain of
barley in the yard. The oats not being a fa-
vorite food, prevent the pigs from eating the
barley too greedily ; as well as being hufky,
they require a longer time to be chewed. Mr<
S. treats buck in the fame manner, with the
fame effeft : peas I find are not unfrequently
put among buck for the fame purpofe.
This is to me a new idea. Mixing chaff
witli oats for horfes, to promote the maftica-
tion of the latter, is an old, and now almoft
univerfal, cuftom ; and mixing different forts
of food for hogs, in order to obtain the fame
valuable effect, is felf-evidently judicious.
53-
January 24. Mr. S. of W. a fteady mo-
ney-getting farmer, rears his calves in this man-
ner. (See REARING Cattle, Vol. I.)
He begins about Michaelmas, and continues
till about Candlemas.
Their food is fkim-milk with a little wheat-
flour. They have alfo chopped turneps in a
trough and hay in a rack.
As foon as they learn to cat turneps freely,
the pail is entirely left offj the turneps afford-^
ing
FATTINQ
SWINE.
REARING
CALVES.
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96
MINUTES.
53 *
HEAR.INQ
CALVES.
Jaw*
ing them both meat and drink ; thefe with i
little hay being their only fuftenance. Some
farmers give them bats and bran ■, but Mr. S.
efteems them dear feeding.
The time of their taking to turneps is un-
certain : where there are older calves that have
learnt to eat tUrneps plentifully, the young
ones readily learn, by picking up the crumbs
' made by the old ones *.
About March; the firft- reared are turned o. t
among the fatting bullocks, in the daytime j
and in a few days, if the weather permit, ar^
turned out altogetlten
During fummer, they are kept m the clo-
vers, or at other high keep ; and, by next au-
tumn, are ftout enough to ftand the paryard.
This is efteemed a main advantage of rearing
calves early in the feafon j for thofe reared late
in the fpring want two years nurfing.
The price of calves, about ten dayi old, is
eight or ten IhiUings j and of buds or yearlings,
from twenty to thirty (hillings ; fo that twenty
{hillings is an out-fide produce of a reared
calfj fifteen {hillings, perhaps, is nearer the par.
• Breaking the turneps with a mallet has been found
to induce calves to take to them fooner than when they
are cut with a iharp-edgedtool. Perhaps; pounding them,
mixing the pulp with milk, would be ftill better.
This
Dlgiirzed by Coogic
9r
o It F 0 t; k.
This cannot be adequate to twelve months ex-
traordinary care, expence, and hazard ; clpe-
cially to a large fanner, who has, at prejent,
more material objedls to attend to;
Mr. B. of the fame place, convinced of
this, rears no calves*, he finds that he can at pre~
Jent buy yoiing home breds and Scots cheaper
than he can rear his own ftock; But Mr. B. b
a good judge offtbck. Fora fmall farmer, or
for any one not thoroughly converfant in the
bufinefs of buying and felling, it may be more
prudent, and certain^ to bring up his owh calces :
for, having learned from experiehce,how much
ftock his farm will carry, he goes on mechani-
cally} fo many cows^ — fo many three-year-olds
*~an equal number of two-year-olds— and the
fame niimbet of buds — with every year nearly
the fame quantity of turneps and clover to feed
and fat them oh. If his turneps prove under
par, he fells part of his three-year-olds } if
above, fells part of hb turneps } and this feems
to be the ntaural bafis of the Norfolk huf^
bandry;
53 -
gen. MAN.,
OF CATTLE;
VoL. II. H
54 *
Digitized by Google
54 *
January 24. The following k an accu-
rate account of the peat grounds of the fens.
The " turfman” pays for rent 4 o
For cutting from is. 6d. to 2s. o i 9
For " chimneying” (tliat is, piling
them lattice -wife to dry) 006
For boating to the ftaidi Sd. to ir. o o' 9
7 O’
Profit and hazard, (great quantitie*
_arefbmetimesfweptawaybythefioods)6 i 6
The felling price, £.0 8 S
The peats, when cut, are about four mche»
Jquare (but dry to about three inches and a
quarter) ; and from two to three feet long, or
of a length equal to tiie depth of the moor i— '
every foot of which, therefore, affords nine
peats : each yard 8 1 : each rod 2,450^ : and
each acre 392,040 : which, at 4J. per thou-
fand,amountsto the fum o(£.']%.is.2d. an acre :
befides the additional advantage of having un-
covered a ftratum of earth, which, in many
parts, produces reed, (pontaneoufly j and on
which, it is highly probable, That valuable
aquatic might, on every part, be propagated.
January
Digitized by Google
99
ij8i. NORFOLK.
' 55 *
January 25. The farmers of Woodbaft-
wick, in the Ibuthern part of tliis Diftrift, have
their marl chiefly from Norwich, in boats
round by Y armouthj forty or fifty miles. Some-
times they bring it^ by way of back-carriagei
from Thorp- riext-Norwich, about fix miles;
at other times from Horftead, and other neigh-
bouring pits, convenient for back-carriage :
none within five or fix miles. .
The ufual quantity fet on is eight or ten
middling loads an acre. At Norwich they pay
one fhlUing— ^at Horftead eighteen pence a
load, uhcallowed.
The carriage (as bdck carriage) is reckoned
worth about three Ihillings or three fhillings
and fixpence ; fo that it cofts them about fou;’
to five fliillings a load ; or fifty (hillings to
three pound an acre.
The marl brought by the wherries is worth;
at the ftaith, about four fhillings the middling
load.
56. • .
January 25. Mr. ofWoodbaftwick
Jhas eleven large Scotch bullocks (from fifty to
H a feventy
55 -
marl.
FATTINOl
CATTLl.
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100
MINUTES.
Jan.
5 ^-
BULLOCKS
IN YARDS.
FATTlNO
CATTLE
ABROAD-
feventy ftone) at turners in the yard. They eat
nearly two load a day — fix would eat about a
load. — They are given to them whole (except
the tails, which are cut off in the field) with
their tops on ; in double bins ; with ftraw
fcattered about the yard ; ferving them both
as fodder and litter.
Thefe bullocks coftthe latter end of October
one with another about 7/. ioj. a head. Sup-
pofe they weigh by the latter end of April fix-
ty ftone on a par, and fell for four fliillings a
ftone ; the produce, deducing the expence of
fair, will be about 4/. — at 4J. hd. a ftone,
5/. lor. — at 5J. a ftone, il. .
If fix bullocks eat a load of turneps a day,
one bullock would eat tliirty loads in fix
months. Twenty loads an acre is efteemed a
fair crop. Therefore, at four Ihillings a ftone>
thefe bullocks will pay a/, ijr Afd. an acre j at
4J. hd. a ftone, 3/. 13X. \d. ■, and at jr. a ftone»
4/. ijr. ifd. an acre for the turneps, ftraw, and
attendance : — fuppofing them to take fix
months at turneps, to bring them to fixty ftone
a head ; which, I apprehend, is near tlic truth.
57 -
January 25. — Mr. Samuel Barber, whole
accuracy may be depended on, fays, that twelve
acres
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NORFOLK.
tor
tp 82 .
acres of tiirneps upon his Stanninghall farm,
have carried thirtyfive fatting bullocks, fol-
lowed by fortyfive cows, highland catde, and
other lean ftock, together with fourfeore fat-
ting fheep, five weeks and three days ; that is,
reckoning eight fiieep to one bullock, fortyfive
fatting, and fortyfive lean bullocks j from
forty to fifty Hone each.
In fix months thefe bullocks would not eat,
at this rate, quite fixty acres ; but the turneps
are very “ thight” and very good.
Mr, Barber attributes the good proof of his
turneps th|s year, on hjs Stanninghall farm,
chjefly to their •“ thightnefs.” He fays he
ncycr ipinds clofe the hoers leave the
plants, fo that they draw their hoes between
them. He fays he has fuffered fome pounds
this year on his Baftwick farm, through the
hoers, in hjs abfcncc, being fuffered to hack
then) out too thin*.
The fame judicious hufbandman fays, he
treats his Stanninghall farm (a light dry foil)
for turneps, and for olland barley, in this man-
ner: the firft plowings, whether they he two or
* Nflr. Baker of Southreps, whole opinion, in thu cafe,
is equally valuable, holds out the lame ideas; faying, that
he \i always attentive to, his l^oers, to fee ^t they do not
|e( out the plants too thin.
H ^ three,
57 ‘ ■
BULLOCKS
ABROAD.
TURKEPS.
SOIL
PROCESS,
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MINUTES.
10 ^
57 -
soil
PROCESS.
TURNIPS.
BARLEV.
J-.iRRlERS,
Jan.
three, he gives very fleet, and fetches the foil up
the laft plowing a full pitch j by which means
he fows his feed amongft a mould which has
never been expofed to the drought ; and, con-
sequently, contains a degree of rpoifture very
favorable to the feedhng plants.
To this management he attributes, in fome
meafure, his great fuccefs in turneps this year.
They are indeed the beft in the country, and
on a foil whereon turneps have not grown, witl^
any degree of fuccefs, for many years.
For olland barley, he endeavours to break
die flag as little as pofllble, fo that the grals be
killed : he therefore would chufe not to break
up his olland till after Chriftmas. With thi^
procefs he fows the barley abovefurrow,
58.
January 29. In a converfapon, to-day,
with two of the firft farmers in the county, a
comparifon between the prefent times and thofe
of fifteen to twenty years' ago, became the fub-
jec'l.
The price of barley was, then, from five.
Ihillings to feven fhillings a coomb ; of wheat,
from ten Ihillings to fourteen Ihillings j and
Ixcf Ihillings and fixpence a ftone. Now,
barley
Digitized uy CjOi
1782. NORFOLK.
barley is eight (hillings, wheat twentytwb (hil-
lings, and beef four (hillings to four (hillings
and fixpcnce ■, yet, in thofe days, farmers had
plenty of money, and actually increafed in
riches i whereas, now, they are moneylels, and
are every year finking in poverty.
To explain this paradox feemed di(Hcult :
the price of day labour is fomewhat decreafedj
fervants wages the fame, now, as then; houfe-
keeping fomewhat mere expenfive, as to the
price of its particular articles ; but, upon the
whole, it is not more fo ; for- farmers, principal
farmers, now keep lefs company than they did
in thofe times. One of them obferved, that he
pays the fame price for a coat, and the fame
for a (hirt, he did formerly ; and as to market
and other perfonal expences, he is clear that
among capital farmers they are lefs now than
they were then. The poor’s rate, it is truci
falls heavy at prefent j but he fays that he pays »
only fourteen pounds nojv for what he then
’ p^d ten pounds : tius therefore is no? of mate-
rial conlequence ; and this excellent hu(band-
man, fenfible and well informed as he is, feem-
ed willing to alTign- the caufe to fome inexpli-
cable hidden myftery.
H4 Ac
103
58,
FARMERS.
Digitized by Google
1
m
FAiyu^RS.
JUNT§.
M I U T E S. Jan.
At length, however, he produced an idea
which goes a great way towards explaining the
apparent riches of former, and the apparent
poverty of the prefent, rimes.
In every corner there are moneyed men ;
formerly they diffhfed their riches through the
neighbourhood they lived in 5 — it was no un-
common circumftance for a farmer even to be.
alked to take money 5 whereas, now, through
a want of private credit and moneyed faith be-
tween man and man, and ftill more through
the prefent high rate of intereft to be made on
government fccurlty, the monies which were
difperfed in the country among farmers anej
tradefmen arc now all called in.
This explains very fully the apparent riches,
of former times and the apparent poverty of the
prefent; but it does not explain why farmers
formerly grew rich, but now grow poor.
The late rife of rents at onqe fully deve-
loped the whole myftery. For although the
nfurer’s money might aflift the farmer in pur-
chafing (lock, &c. to an advantage ; yet this
advantage was in great meafure cancelled, by
the intereft which he had annually to pay for
it : whereas the money arifing from the com-
parative lownefs of rent required neither inte-
reft nor even principal tQ be repaid.
Thus,
" . t . I i
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Google
lygi. NORFOLK.
Thus, fuppofmg farms to be raifed thirty
per cent, within the laft fifteen or twenty years ;
and fuppofmg that, among middling farmers,
the rife in the poor?s rates, and the extra ex-
pence of houfekceping, is adequate to the ad-
vance of produce the farmdr who now juft
nj^kes ends meet on a farm of one hundred and
thirty pounds a year, had formerly a furplus of
thirty pounds left in his pocket to buy ftock,
&c. at the beft market f.
This, even the fecond year of his leafe, he
found of great advantage ; but the third year,
the thirty became fixty j the fourth, ninety, or
perhaps one hundred pounds j for the intcreft,
or a proper management of the money, had in-
creafed his ftock j fo that by intereft upon inr
tcreft, or by other advantages made of the mo-
ney, ^ careful, induftrious, fortunate man found
himfelfj at the end of his twentyone years
leafe, to be worth eight hundred or one thou-
fa*id pounds j and confequently got, very de-
fervedly, the name of being a rich farmer.
• A ftriking inllance of the lofs arifing from a want of
loofe' money tb buy ftock when the markets are low, oc-
curs this year : at Kipping an4 Kenningliall fheep-ihows
(a few months ago) the fame lambs might hare beei^
bought for five (hillings and iixpence, which are now
worth halfa-guinea a head. ' '
But
RISS OF
KfNTS.
Digitized by Google
MINUTES.-
Jan,-
^o6
58.-
ItlSE OF
E£NXS.
But the cafe of the man' who now takes a
farm of a hundred and thirty pounds a year, is
very different.
Let us fuppofe him to have a papital juft
fufficient to ftock it, and help him through the
extra expences of the firft year.
His crops turn out tolerably, anft, having
common good luck with live ftock, the neat
produce of his farm juft clears its expences,'
buys him a new coat, and pays his landlord ;
but this done, he finds himfelf without a fix-
pence left in his pocket for manure, or to go
to a cheap market with.
This however is.npt all. In the courfe of
the year, he lofes a cow, perhaps a horlc. — <
What is to be done ? He is pcnnylefs, and
cannot borrow a Ihilling in the whole country.
Why, he muft either do without, to the grea^
prejudice of his farm, or feft fome other part
of his ftock to replace them with.
The next year, his wheat or histurnep crop
fads him. He has not a {hilling beforehand to
carry hjin over the difficulty ; he confequently
becomes in arrear with his landlord} his
fpirits are broken j his land not only wants
manure, but even labour and teathe ; for he is
glad to fell his bdlocks before Chriftmas, to
Digitized by GcogU
J782. NORFOLK,
keep his landlord in temper : the confcquencc
peed not be traced.
Thus it appears that the poverty of prefent
farmers, more particularly of middling and
fmall farmers, refults in fome meafure from an
advance in the expences of houfekeeping and
an advance in the parifh rates j but principally
from the prefent fcarcity of money, and from
the late rife of rents.
59 -
Februarv 5. In finking a well near Gun-
ton-Houfe, tire workmen, it feems, traced the
tap-root of an oak, through an uniformly white
fand, to the depth, I think, of twenty feet. — ^
The tree was peverthelefs uncommonly healthy
and beautiful.
This (hews that a ftrong foil is not neceflary
to the produftion of fine oaks.
There might, however, be one circumftance
favorable to this oak. The ftratum which it
grew in might be impregnated with the drain-
age of the houfe and offices ; for of fo abfor-
bent a nature is this bottomlels bed of farid,
t • * .
that it drinks up the whole drip of the houfe,
together with the overflowings, and wafte wa- '
ter, and filt of every denomination.
■ ' ' , Nor
lOJ
58.
FARAJERS4
THE OAK,
SUBSOIL.
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io8
59 -
SUBSOIL.
f£P^s.
MINUTES* Fb«.
Kor is this a Angular inftancc of the abfor-
bcncy of the Norfolk foil ; for of a fimilar na-
ture is the moft frequent fubfoil of the county:
dig a marl-pit through to fand, the water
iipn^ediatcly vanilhc^
6o.
February 5. Buttreffes, to ftay-up old
buildings, are very aukward, very expenfive,
and very fubjeft to decay, if not well fecured
from the drip of the building they fupport :
yet, if wa^s Jofc their uprighq fomething is
neceflary,
Euttrefles, however, - may frequently be
ayqided, by thickening the foundation, and
forming an arch-like foot or underpinning tq
• the whole part affefted. — Witnefs a tall fence-
wjiU at Northrepsj arjd a dwclling-hoyfe at
Bradfield ; where a butjtref^ |n the front of a,
good hoijfe, woujd have beep very unfightly.
The Jpriitg or width at the bafe, as alfo the
height, Ihould be in proportjon to the degree
and height pf the b.vlge to kt fecqrcd.
Where the whole wall has given way apd
overhangs much, a tall buttrefs may be nc-
ceffary ; though even in this cafe, fupportijig
the beams and rebuilding the wall from the
foundation
Digitized by Google
1782. N O R F O L Ei
foundation Is generally more prudent : — k large
buttrefs fwallows up a great quantity of brick
and mortar j and, when raifed, is but a tempo-
rary relief.
A large blue flatc forms an admirable roof
for a buttrefs ; — an inftance occurs upon An-
tingham-hall farm.
6r.
February 5. A neighbouring farmer hav-
ing one fide of a clofe of tumeps, which he
could not confume fall enough to be Ibwn
with wheat, he cut off their tops with a fpade,
gave the cops to his cows, carted the bottoms
into a new-made adjoining ditch, (backing the
cart and fiiooting them in) and covered them
over with a little ftraw ; and, over this, with
bramble kids, to keep the flock from them.
Here they lay until wanted in a froft ; when
the cart was again backed to the ditch, and
the turneps loaded with a fork.
He fays, that his beace eat them as well, or
better, than frefh-drawn turneps ; and that, in
general, they came out as found as when they
went in. Had the tops been depofited with
the roots, they would probably have brought
on
209
60.
BUTTRESSES
PRESERVUfS
TURNIPS.
Digitized by Coogli
xib
6i.
1>RFSERV1NG
TURNEPS.
THE ASH.
M I.N if T E S.
on a fermentation, and have fpoiled the whole
depofit.
Might not this praftice be extended to the
prefervation of turneps in the fpririg ?
Turnepsi this year; began to run the begin-
ning of January : they have how, in general;
got fpring Ihoots five or fix inches long ; and;
if the prefent open weather continue, the roots
mull be cortfiderably exhaUfted, and the land
very much drawn, long before bullocks irt
general are finifhed; or gfafs begins to grow.
But if they were now (when labour is cheap
and plentiful) topped and carted into dry
ditches^ or formed into Hacks with draw*;
their goodnefs might be preferved, and the
land be got into forwardnefs for barley.
If they were Hacked in or near the yard;
there would not, for Hied or flraw-yard bul-
locks, be any labour loH.
'Whether, after this remarkably mild winter,
the Iprfng prove very mild; or very fevere;
they would, by this means; be removed out of
harm’s way.
62.
February 7. There Is, in a groVe at Gun-
ton, a large alh, (at Ifeaft a load of timber in
• Perhaps hurdles, fet chequer- wife, would be found
convenient receptacles.
it)
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1782. NORFOLK.
it) which is dijbarked entirely round the ftem,
about a foot from the ground. On one fide
the upper and lower barks are feparated about
a foot from each other j on the other fide not
more than three or four inches j they feem to
be drawing towards each other, and may in a
few years unite.
This tree was probably dilbarked by deer,
•from five to ten years ago j yet it is not only
alive, but apparently as growing and healthy as
any tree in the grove. '
63-
February 7. I have frequently obferved
that the face of a ditch over which ivy has
ibread itfelf, ftands invariably.
Perhaps, on a fandyToil, where the face of
• the bank is perpetually running down like an
hour-glafs, plant or fow a diill.of ivy near the
Feet of new-made ditches.
It . '
64.
February 7. Fhe roof out of repair, the
whole fabric is in danger.— Not only the fpars,
but the “ planfher,” nay, even the ground-
floor, I have fcen rotten through a bad roof.
Perhaps,
lit
62.
THE ASH.
VECETABLS
ECONOilY.
HEDGES,
REPAIRS.
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ils
64.
REPAIRS.
Kieadows.
MINUTES.
Perhaps, fend a thatcher and bricklayer
round to' each farm annually : if nothing be
wanted upon it, there may no doubt be half a
day’s labour loft j but if there is, a few ftiillings
laid out in time mays in a courfe of years, pro-
duce a confiderable faring;
If the landlord take care of the roofs and
foundations — the tenants will, for their own '
conveniency, be ready enough to remind him
of the repairs wanted on the infidc.
65.
February 7. A ftriking inftance of thi
ftiameful managerhent of meadowland iri Nor-
fdk occurs upon the church-ferm at
The late tenant was afraid to'truft his ftock
in one of his meadows : he has loft feveral cat-
tle and horfes in it— -the fkeleton < of a horfc
now lies there.
The prefent tenant could hot get his ftock
into it, until, ata confiderable expence of heath
and fand, he made a gangway. — To him
(who has taken it for only one year certain) I
could not value it at more than five Ihillings
an acre : yet I will venture to fay, that for the
trifling
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i7^2. • ‘ 'n d R F 6 l : fe.
tnfiing expence of twenty fhillings an acre, pro-
perly laid out in the courfe of next' fummfci“i if
would, ‘in two or three years time, be worth
from twelve to fifteen Ihillings an acre.
I will give an eftimate of the expence, to
Ihew the rea/ improvement which the mea-
dow lands of Norfolk are capable of.
• This meadow js a parallelogram lying on a
flat, and contains five acres, two roods, feveh
perches. .
A rivulet runs on one fide of it, upon a bed
_ of gravel, and five or fix feet. below the lurface
of the meadow. Acrofs the meadow, perpen-
dicular to the rivulet, are two drains, grown up
with haflbeks, and trod in by cattle ; and found .
it is a watery ditchi alfo full of grals and mud*
There are about eighty ftatute rods of
ditching, and about forty ftatUte rods of drain-
ing. — The ditches might be fcoured for a
(hilling, the drains be opened for fixpence,
the long rod. .
J
• 8o ftatute is about fixtythree long .
rods, at ij. - - C 3 3 ^
, 4° diirtyone, at 6</.’ o 15 6
• .. . ^
,But the drains could not be opened level
with the rivulet for that money j nor could
VoL. II. ‘ i they.
■55.' •
meadows;
Digitized by Google
6 ^.
MEADOWS.
; k I N U T E S. . Feb,
they, for that, be made fences : for one fhil-
ling a rod they might, I apprehend, be done
effeaually, which is an addition of • o 15 6
£4 14 o
Kor could the ditches, perhaps, be
carried round level with the rivulet
(which they ought to be, the workmen
leading a dead water all rouhd) for one
Ihilling a rod : for fourteen pence I be-
lieve they might : this is a further adl
dition of - - '■ o 10 6
£7T6
Befides this, three trunks, or arches, would
be wanted as an entrance, and for communica-
tions between the beds ; the fluff, too, would
require to be fet about : thefe, however, come
under theidea of annual and ordinary expences j
we may therefore fay, that for the inconfider-
able purchafe of five guineas an improvement
v/orth fifty or fixty pounds might be obtained.
Perhaps, when a meadow is fo fituated that
the rivulet cannot be funk below the moor, lay
the main drains into wells, dug at a convenient .
diflance from the rivulet, and pump ' the ra-
iKainmg water into it. One length hf tree would
do, and a man would pump out a great quan-
tity ef water in a day j and what are a few days
works
Digitijea b’, Cioogk
iySi. NOR F,0 L K.
works compared with the difFererice between A
drained and an undrained meadow ?
Perhaps, a ftubborn quickfand might be
overcome by digging a well near it.
66 .
February 8. It is an excellent cuftom of
the Norfolk farmer to erect rubbi>ig pofts in the
different parts of the inclofure he is feeding or
teathing ; they keep the flock from the fences,
and furnifh them, no doubt, with an agreeable,
and perhaps a falutary, amufement.
Some, I fee, draw the crown of a tree, with
the lower part of the boughs left on, into the
middle of the dole ; this is lefs trouble than
putting down a poft, is eafily. rolled out of
the way of die plow, and feems to be ftill'
• ^
more agreeable to the cattle. .
67.
February 9. Mr. Arthur Bayfield (w'hole
good fenfe and judicious management have re-
peatedly engaged my attention) fows the prin-
cipal part of his wheat in four-furrow work,
with this peculiarity : — He fows only half the
leed before the plow's. (See Wheat, Vol. I.)
’The firft plowman fets out a very .wide
back i” fo that the tops of the firft two fur-
1 2 rows
”5
draining.
QUICKSAND.
CATTLE.
. RCBBINO
POSTS.
»
SOWING
WHEAT.
Digitized by Google'
n6
67.
60WING
WHEAT.
TURNEPS.
M I N.,u T E S. Feb.
rows do but-barely touch each other. The
fcedfman follows, and fows the remaning half
of the feed in the trenches made by the firft
'plow.-^Another plowman follows, and, with a
neat narrow furrow, covers the feed and makes
up the ridges.
It was on my. obfcrving to him, the other
day, the evenncfs with which his wheat comes
np, that he told me his method of putting In
die feed.
Farmers in general, he thinks, fow too much
of their feed on the warps, by which means the
tops of the ridges have more than their propor-
• tion of feed j unlefs the ridges be made very
narrow, which occafions a lols of labour.
Mr. B.’s four-furrow work is nearly as wide
as the fix-fiirrow ridges of fome farmers ; and
it is impoflible for wheat to come up more.
fceautifuUy than his does this year,
68 . \
F ebRuary 9. Laft year, there were lurneps
fold as high as 5/. an acre j a price feldom, if
ever, before known in Norfolk. At the begin-
ning of this feafon, four pounds ten fhillings,
fomc fay four guineas and a hal^ an acre was
refufed
I
Digitized ty
NORFOLK.
1782.
rcfufed forturnqss — The fame turneps are now
worth about three pounds.— Good turneps are
fold for fifty Ihillings, tolerable ones for forty
ihillings.
The reafbn for this rapid fall of turneps is
twofold : the opennefs of the ^yinter, and
the fcarcity of bullocks, this* year j owing
to their high price at Michaelmas, and to the
poverty of the farmers,
A. gives forty (hillings for tolerable ones,
and is allowed to bring fome home ; but he
pulls and tends the reft himfelf i^A. fays pull-
ing and ftraw is worth twenty (hillings).
B. pok in lean three-year-olds at two (hil-
lings a week, but their owner would not con-
tinue : B^, therefore fold him the turneps at
fifty (hillings an acre (middling) j B\ to pull
and tendj but the purchafer 'to find ftraw
{B. reckons pulling, &c. worth ten (hillings ap
acre).
C. agreed (early in the feafpn) with P, at
three pounds; P. to pull, tend, and find ftraw ;
which C. reckons at fifteen (hillings, viz. five
(hillings die ftraw, and ten ftiillings the attend-^,
gince. . '
‘ « *
”7
6S.
PRICE OF
TURNEPS.
• Digitized by Google
Ji8
69,
BULLOCKS
AT
TURNEPS.
MINUTES, pRR,
69.
February 9. It is a. general obfervationi
tliat in this remarkably warm open winter, fhed-
bullocks have done very badly; while bullocks
abroad have done extremely well.— A perfon,
who is a competent judge in this matter, in-
ftances fome bullocks, which he faw the other
day, that have fcarcely got any thing, during
feveral weeks they have been at turneps; — .
his remark' WT.S, that they fwcat out as much
as they lay on ; that their coats are continually-
wet ; their backs being covered with drops of
fwcat.
In cold winters, bullocks are oblerved tci
do beft in Iheds ; but they do not travel lb
well to nfiarket, as bullocks fatted abroad or in
• the open yard.
This being an interefting fubjeft, and of
great importance to this and every other light
land Diftrifl, I have collefted the particular'
pradlice of fuch. individuals as bufinefs, or
• other circumftance, has thrown in my vay.
' Mr. Barber, at Baftwick, (a fomewhat tender
foil) gives his bullocks turneps- in bids in the
ppen yard. At Stanninghall,(a dry firm foil) he
keeps them wholly abroad, Ihifting them every-
day, or every two or three days, giving then:^
ftraw in a moveable four-hv-heeled llraw-rack.
Mr,
Digitized by Googl^
/
119
i 78 t. N O .R F O L K.
Mr. Thomas Scago, of Hanworth, throws
the beginning pf the feafon, and . afterwards
chops the turneps, and gives them in bins in
the ftrawyard.
Mr. John Hylton, of F elmingham, fats them
abroad.
Mr. ArthutBayfieldjofAntingham— Abroad
in the day j and, if near home, puts them into
s the ftrawyard at night ; but rather than drive
them any diftance, backward .and forward,
keeps them abroad altogetlier, with veiy little
ftraw. Says, that his land being light requires
to be trodden. T hinks that bullocks kept wholly
in the yard fhould have their turneps in cover
ed bins, — a kind of double narrow ftied acroft
the yard ; for in cafe of froft and fnowy weather,
the turneps given them, overnight, in open
bins, are frequently left untouched, and are
obliged to be taken out, and replaced with frefh
ones, the next morning.
Mr.Robins Cook, ofFelmingham — Abroad
in the day 3 in the ftrawyard at night ; np
turneps in the yard, nor ftraw in the field.— •
Says, they eat the ftraw greedily on their
coming into the yard in the evening : — ufed to
give them ftraw upon the headlands j not fcat-
I 4 tered
69. .
BULLOCKS.
AT
TURNEPS.
Digitized by Google
69.
BULLOCKS
AT
TURN EPS.
MINUTES. Fe9.
tered about thin, but all in one place, (b as tQ
be able to jTiake a little manure ; but this wa?
only becaufe he had not ft fpare yard to
" flow” them in.
At Albro’ (a more tender foil) he ufed gene-
rally to graze half a dozen bullocks in thQ
houfe : he attepdgd them himfelh chopping
all their turneps. They eat, he fays, (contrary
to common opinion) as maiiy turneps jn the
houfe as they dp abroad : fix of them piore
than a load a day. Four o’clock in the after-
noon, he fays, is their principal hour of eating ;
—ufed to rack them up with the tops : thg
offal thrown to the buds.
Mrs. Swan, of Suffield, fats them abroad,
Mr. Fofter, of Bradfield— Abroad j with
P;raw fcattered under the hedges.
Mr. Jonadian Bond, of Wallham— -Fopr-,
teen abroad.
Mr. Henry Helfden, of Antingham, fat§
th^m at two years old .'—has np meadows, fnd
cannot keep them till three X?ars old. Ha?
them always at “high keep being from th^
time they are dropt either at turneps, clovetj
or in the ftubbles : — fats them abroad. * '
- Mr. James Helfden, of Suffield— Sixteen
abro^.
Digitized by Google
pSa. . NORFOLK.
Mr. F. Le Neve, -of Bradfield, has ten
abroad, and two cows “ by the head.” — ^Why
keep the cows in the houfe and the reft abroad ?
“ Becaufe the cows are backwarder than the
other, and I fliall be able to bring them for-
5.‘ ward by good tending in the fhed.’’
Mr. John Joy, of Wallham, has five
Scotch i one four-year old Norfolk j eight
three-year-old ditto j one two-year-old ditto ;
and two cows with their calves by their fides.
The four-yeaf-old Norfolk is a beautiful
)iul)ock, and very forward : — t|ie three-year-
olds, being more given to growing, do not fat
fo faft. Mr. Joy is clearly of opinion, that
four-year-old Norfolks will beat any Scotch.
The cows and calves are quite new to me j
though Mr. Joy fays, that “running calves’?
are, and haye been, very common things in
this country, They are fent up to l^ondon
with the cows, and have been known to fetch
as high as fix or feven pounds a piece *. The
Cpws are yery pld j yet notwithftanding the
• I was afterwards told that a gentleman near Norwich
fold ‘a year-and-half-old calf for ten pounds ! It was-
offered to the butcher at nine pounds, or at live ihiUings
a ftone : he accepted the latter. On weighing it, the
four quarters weighed forty ftone! But it fe^ihs to be
y'ell underftood that “ running calves weigh like lead.”
calves
I21f
69.
BULLOCKS
AT
TCRKEPS.
BREED OR
CATTLE.
RUMNINO
CALVES. '
Digitized by Coogle
112
69.
mUNNING
CAiVES.
lOARnTC
CATTLE.
BULLOCKS
AT
TURNEPS.
FATTINO
^ CATTLE.
MINUTES. Feb.
calves draw them, the .wonderful effect of tur-
neps is fuch, that they are getting fat apace ;
one of the calves (a heifer) is as (leek as a mole j
and has already dropt a dug of confiderable
fize : the other is not fo fomard its mother be-
ing very old, and gives little milk. The calves
cat turneps as freely as the reft of the cattle.-:—
"V^’hat an admirable end is this for old cows !
Some of the* three-year-olds, and the two-
year-old, are fpayed heifers ; but, through the
negligence of the cutter, fome of them have not
been clean fpayed, and are frequently running
to bull i a circumftance which is of great hin-
drance to their fatting,
Mr. Joy keeps his bullocks entirely abroadj
V giving them ftraw fcattered over the clofe j or,
in hard weather, under the hedges : he never
puts them into the yard at night j thinking that
driving them backward and forward is preju-
dicial to their fatting.
Mr Jonathan Bond, of Southreps, has
. eight two-year-dds at turneps ; generally graz-
ing two-year-olds : this year tl’.ey are rather
. backward •, but expcdls they will reach about
thirty ftpne a piece, with about fix weeks grafs.
Two-year-olds, he allows, do not finifli fo early
fu the three-year-olds j but if they be kept well
frorn
Digitized by Gooj^k
178 a. N O R F O L K.
from the time they are dropt, they pay very
well. It is obfervable that the heifers are not
only forwarder but larger thahthefteers, though
dropt at the fame time : they are open, and had
the bull about Chriftmas.
• Mr. William Mann,of Bradfield, hasfix/wo-
year-olds at turneps ; they are doing very well j
^nd, with a little grafs, will be very good meat.
They were early calves (between Michaelmas
and Chriftmas) and have a mixture of the Suf-
folk breed in them. One of themf but-
horned ) will weigh upwards of forty ftone; this’
one inftance in favor of the Suffolk breed.
Mr. Baker, of Southrcps, keeps his beauti-
ful heifers bought at St.Faith’s (See Min. 1,7.)
entirely abroad ; giving ftraw under the hedges;
^nd Ihifting them every day : they have thus
far done well indeed.
70.
February 9. In riding over the eftate, I
have alfo made a point of coliefling informa-
tion refpefling the rearing of calves, a fubjeft
of confiderable importance in every county.
Mr. Barber rears none ; he fats his calves^
and kills them for the Fed market at Norwich.
(See Cattle, Vol. I.)
Mr. Thomas Shepherd, of Northreps, rears
l^one ; but flirewdly obferves, that he cares not
Itow
69.
FATTINO
CATTLE.
BREED op
CATTLE.
BULLOCKS
AT
TURNEPS-
REARHfC
CALVES.
Digitized by Google
>24
70 .
REARING
.tAi-VJiS.
MINUTES. Ff»,
how many his neighbours rear. Mr. S. (as
well as Mr. B.) is a judge of flock, and a fre-
quenter of fairs and markets; and finds, no
doubt, he can buy yoiing flock cheaper than he
•can rear them.
• *
Mr. — , of — } gives milk once a day (Ipolc *
but indifferently) with turnep-tops and oats and
bran mixed together in a trough, and hay in a
rack (the hay bad): — ^begins about Chriflmas.
—Says, that one early calf is worth two back-
ward ones ; and jnflances it from lafl year’s
experience.
Mr. William Barnard— Milk twice a day
with bran only (look well): — gives neither
qirneps nor tops, till they are a month or five
%V'eeks oJd. , .
Mr. John Hylton rears twelve to fifteen (he
• has a marfh)— reared three this feafon in Au-
gufl ; they are now alnjofl as large as yearlings.
Thefe had rnilk four months ; in common, he
gives milk twice a day, with turnep-tops, for
two months ; and once a day for as much lon-
ger as he has mills.: if milk bc fcarce, he
makes milk-porridge.
Mr. William Sewell rears eight or nine.— .
Says, that he has had calves get quite fat on tur-
ntps and hay, when he has had bullocks in the
- yard ; and the calves have been, of courfc, well
Digitized by C'
tug
1782. N O R F 6 L k*
tended : much, he fay*, depends upon attend-
ance. ,
Mr., Robins Cook rears about twelve ) keeps
them at the teat twice a day, till three or four
weeks old i and once a day, till three or four
weeks older : then offers them the pail ; but,
if they refufe, or are dilficult to learn to drink
at that age, he leaves them to take their chance
at turneps, hay,- and water.
Generally lofes three or four a ye^r in the
gargut*
Mr. Arthur Bayfield rears twelve to fifteen:
ufed to rear eighteen or twenty. — Takes them
off the cow at -a fortnight or three weeks old:
finds no difficulty in learning them to drink at
that age : — keeps them at milk twice a day,
until ten or twelve weeks old/ with turneps,
turnep-tops and hayj but no bran, &c. Cuts
the turnep-tops, to prevent their being littered
about.
Mr. Jonathan Bond, of North- Walffiam,
keeps eight cowsj rears ten calves: buys
them chiefly of the drovers -drove calves
very dear tliis year; from twelve to fifteen
• “Gargut,” or « mulrain taken fuddenly : pre-
fendy become putrefeent; with the lldn. parched and
rigid.
(hillings
70.
REARINO
CALVES.
Digitized by Google
il5
•HEARING
CALVES.
CEN. Man.
OF
cattle.
M I N U T E 1 ■ j^£8i
fliillings at a fortnight old. Gives them tur-s
neps, hay, lind about three pints of rhilk, oncd
a day. Says, that too much milk makes them
negleft the turneps ; but keep them fhort of
milk^and they foon take to them : turns them
to grafs' about the middle of April ; by which
time he reckons they cpft him about twenty
(hillings a head ; and fiys, that a bud«of a
year old may be bought for twenty-five fhil-
lings. But he adds, that bringing them up
within himfclf, he does not mifs the charge of
them.
Generally lofes two or three every year by
the gargut. '
Mr. James Hcirden, of Suffield — Eight
cows : rears about ten calves j fats fixteen to
twenty bullocks (his farm of the middle fize) ; '
gives his calves hay, nirneps, and milk, twice a
day, , while young ; after ten weeks or tlired
months, once a day : begins about the middle
of March to put his oldefl: out into a piece of '
tifrneps, three or four Hours in the middle of the
day,, to play about and eat the turnep-tops.
Mr. — keeps eight cows ; ufiially rears
eight calves $ but turneps being fcarce, he rears
none this year, meaning to buy eight or ten.
buds at the falcs,
Mr.
Digilizeu 1 .
1782. ‘NORFOLK;.
♦ •
Mr, John Waller brings up fix : takes them
off at two or three days or a week old : miilc
twice'a day, as long as he can give it j and then
once a day, as long as he has it j gives alfo hay,
. ^rneps, and bran ; but no oats.
Mr. John Joy takes them ofFat about a fort-
night old: milk t\vicf a day, for about a month,
and once a day, for a month or fix weeks lon-
ger ; until they can be turned but in the fpring
into a pightle of turneps : alfo gives them tur-
neps, hay, and barley ftraw, which, by way of
a change, they eat as well as hay. Mr. Joy
generally lofes fome every year in the gargut.'
He fays, as foon as they are dead, there is a jel-
ly formed between the fkin and the flelh : they
are taken fuddenly, and die prel>ntly after be-
ing taken : fome bleed and rowel them with
«gargut-root” (heUehcrtis fKtidus ) in their tail
or dewlap : feldom recover.
Mr. , of Southreps, begins between
Michaelmas and Chriftmas. — Takes them from
the cow about three weeks or a month old, and
endeavours to make them " lufly j” gives
them about half a pint of milk once a day,
with hay, oats, and bran ; but no turneps. I
alkcd him why ? He gave me for anfwer, that
his father, mother, himfelf, nor any of the fa-
. mily.
lij
70.
REARING
CALVES.
GARGUT.
Digitized by Google
J2§ • k I N U T E s.' fee:
70.
fATTIKG
CA rXLE.
mlly, had ever given their calves turneps: — he
added hhwever, that oats and bran are heartier
food ; and that the milk is enough for them
without turneps : his calvesj ho doubt, look
well, and fo do his buds and two-year-olds.—
Aflced him if he did not find oats and bran
expenfive. He faid, that the fix, which he has
now, have eaten about three bulhels of oats,
and two bufliels of bran, in about fix weeks ;
which time they have been from the cows j
they being now about ten weeks old.' This, is
no great expence j not^ being above three-
pence a head a week (if he be accurate ). He
fpeaks in raptures of oats for calves. He keeps
them at milk until the mrneps are gone j when'
he begins to jnake cheefe'.
Mr. William Mann, of Bradfield, hasalready
eleven this year : begins between Michaelmas
and Chrillmas: lets them fuck ten days : milk
twice a day for a month or five weeks after-
wards; and once a day until they do well upon
hay and turneps ; or until he can turn them
out a few hours in the day into a turnep clofe.
Thinks that the milk is of little ufe to them/
after they begin to cat turneps well: gives
them the turneps whole; only .tailing them,
and freeing them a little from dirt : gives na
.oacs
Digitized by (
ijSi. NORFOLK:
oats nor bran : he is remarkable for fine yoiing
ftock: he is very aflidtious in keeping his
calves well-littered.
Mr. Henry Helfden, of Antingham, be^ns
before Chrifimas : takes them off at a formight^
old ; fomttimes at three weeks ; by which
time they get “ rarely ftrong/’ but do not take
to the pail fo well i gives them new milk twice
a day for about a fortnight ; and (kimmed
twice a day for a formight longer ; and about
three pints or two quarts once a day afterward i
until the weather be warm enough to turn them
out entirely to turneps : gives them the turneps
in the houfe, whole, thrown upon the litter :
learns them by cutting off the crown, breaking
up the furface, and pouring milk into the ine-
qualities. If hay be foarce or bad, gives a
few oats and bran : look very well.
7i’*
February io. Young Swann, of Suffield;
had, the winter before this, fome of the bed
turneps in the country. Seeing him, laft fum-
mer, fowing fome in what appeared to me a
flovenly manner, the furface being covered with
chick-weed, groundfcl, charlock, and other
rubbilh pulled up by the harrows, I afked him
VoL, n. K why
II9
yoi
REARING
Calves.
SOWING.
TURNER'S.
Digitized by Google
13 °;
71 *-:
'SOWING
TURNiPS-
CATTLE AT
TURNEPS.
M I N U-T E S. F£B,i
why he did not give his land another earth be-
fore he fowed it; He anfwered, that the land
was not foul ; and that he, purpofely, let the
feed weeds get to a head ; having found, from
the experience of two or three years back,
that his turneps fucceeded beft when the feed
was fown in that manner: faying,^ that he be--
lieved the “ wreck” fliadcd the young plants, ,
and kept the fly from them. I afked him if
the rubbiflt was not in the way of the hoe : he
faid, not much j for being young, and ten-
der, it withers away to little or nothing, be-
fore the plants be fit for the hoe.
Two or three days ago, I examined this dole
of turneps ; tlie plants are thinner than one
would wifli, (perhaps owing to their being bad-
ly hoed) but there is not a patch, deficienty in
the whole piece.
There may be two advantages arifing from
letting the foil lie fome time before the lafl:
plowing : it acquires a degree of texture, and
tnoiftnefs, favorable to the infant plaflrs ; and
is prevented, by the dead weeds, from being*
al'terwards, run together by heavy rains.
' February io. Aiking Mr. A. Bayfield, if
his cattle were not Ibmetimes choaked with'
' turneps •
Digitized by Googli
x.; 82 . NORFOLK.
turneps ; he faid no j he never loft but one in
his life. I aflttd him if he tiled a rope : he
faid he had one j but never ufed it, except at
tlie time he loft his cow. If fait and water will
not cure them, he pours down a hornful of
Jalt and melted greaje : fuch as Itogslard or any
kind of common greafe. This he never (ex-
cept the once) found fail.
This is an idea worth prelerving : warm oil
and fait would perhaps have the fame effect.
Mr, Bayfield, who may be called one of the
moft orthodox farmers in Eaft Norfolk, is clear
in that a three-year-old " homebred” will fat
as kindly as & four-year-old “ marlhlander” or
“Scot.” ‘ ."V ■ '
He inftanced it, to-day, in a three-year- old
of his own bringing up, which he bought, when
a calf, of the calf-drovers ; and which evidently
difeoversa near relationfhip to the Ihort-horned
breed. He is now at turneps with the reft of
the three-year-old Norfolk ftock j but, norwith-
ftanding he was at head keep all laft fum-'
mer, lie is neverthelefs ftill a rawboned grow-’
ing fteerj while the Norfolks are as fofc
as moles, and feveral of them begin to droj^
their points. The Norfolks will fat to from’
forty to fortyfbur ftone ; the Lincolnlhire, if
-■ .A. : . K 2- • • ■ ho-
i • . • i
72 .-
CATTLE AT -
TURNEPS.
BRETD OF
CATTLE.
\
\
Digitized by Google
» 3 *
M I K U T E S.
72.
1RE£D OF
CATTtl.
FARM-YARD
MANAGEM.
FrR.
he were to be kept another year, would reach
at leaft leventy.
But this peculiar quality of the Norfolk
ftock does not depend on fize j for Mr. B. fays,
X that a three-year-old Scot (ftill fmaller perhaps)
is as difficult to fat as A three-year-old marfli-
lander. He fays, it is bad management to
attempt it j but keep them on until they be four
years old, and they will make famous over-
year” bullocks : adding, that at that age they
will generally pay for keeping over-year.
73 -
February la It feems to be a received
idea among the Norfolk farmers, that the draw
which is eaten by cattle is in a manner wafted
as to manure. Mr. S. I remember, as an argu-
ment in favor of his plan of fitting pigs loofe
in the open yard, laid what a rare parcel of
muck they make, compared with what " neat
beacc” would have made from the fame ftraw.
** A parcel of lean hungry ftock, fays he, come
into a yard and cat up all the ftraw : fee there
** lies a bundle of ftraw. as big as a man caa
« carry.”
Mr. B. the other day, intimated the fame
idea ; however, on putting the queftion, he ac-
knowledged
Digitized by Co'*k'
NORFOLK.
*33
1782.
knowlcdgcd that a little dung and a little trod-
den ftrawdowcll together.
In the north of England, the farmers make
their cattle eat almoft every blade of their
ftraw, fo that they have fcarccly any left to Ut-
ter their ftalls with. Give a Yorkftiire and a
Norfolk farmer equal quantities of ftraw, the
Yorkfhireman would keep more cattle, and
carry out his dung at a lefs expcnce j whilft
the Norfolkman would make more muck.
But qusere. Whether is the manure better or
worfe ? and quasre. Which of the two, upon the
whole, is the better management ?
Much, perhaps, may depend on the quality of*
the foil to be manured. A large quantity of
long dung would, perhaps, for ftiff cold land*
be better than a fmallcr quantity of fhort. But
perhaps, for a loamy (oil, fhort dung is the beft,
74 *
February 12. In my rides, this winter, I
have endeavoured to inform myfelf refpe£ting
the winter-managemtnt of fiore-cattle^
Mr. A. Bayfield’s yearlings and milch-cows
follow his bullocks, and Ue in the paryard at
night: hk two-year-olds, and dry cows, go
abroad in the meadows, &c. in the day, and are
K j put
73 *
FARM-YARO
UANAOEM.
CATTU.
Digitized by Google
* 3 +
M I Tsr U.T E S.'
74 '
■WINTER
man. of
CATTLE.
F5b;
put into the par at night : they have not yet
■ had a turnep, Mr. B. fays, however, he fliall
now begin to give them foine ; for if young
ftock are ftarved in the fpring, they are ftinte^
fox the whole year. Cows in calf, he alfo juftly
obferves, will do w'ith lefs keep than any other
ftock, until within a few weeks of their calv-
ihg. .. .
...Mr. John Hylton. — His turneps failing, he
has few bullocks this year ; and thefe he buys
turneps for j and brings home fome for his
cows. Neither his two-year-olds, nor even his’
buds, have yet broken a turnep this year ; he*
having the principal part of the few turneps
he grew ftill upon the ground ; faying, that he
ftiould be diftrafled if he had not a plenty of
feed in the fpring > fo as to be able to favop
his ollauis, until they got a gof)d bite, and
the ground covered. A good farmer never
ftarves his ftock.
. Mr. Jonathan Bond, of Walfliam, makes
three divifions in his paryard : his buds ; his
two-year-olds j and his cows. Says, that tliQ
gargur, fome people think, comes from the
buds being “ horned” by tlie larger cattle j
but fays, he does not believe that tiiere is any-
■ thingin it j for notwithftanding his precaution,
he has loft three, this year, by the gargut.
Digitized by Google
jj 82 . NORFOLK.
Mr. James HelfderijofSuffield, flows hisbuds
jn a battened ftack-yafd, at the end of a barn.
He always takes care to place fuch corn in this
ftacking-place, as will require to be “ barned”
the beginning of the leafon ; fo that he has it
every year free in time enough for a " calves
par” (a good plan).
Mr. John Joy, of Walflinm, has now fix or
eight cows, ten two-year-olds, and eleven buds
follow his bullocks: his young flock had no
pirneps till after Chriftmas. ,
Mr. Edward Bird, of Plumftead, has his
^wo-year-pWs out at keep as followers at one
(hilling a week : they have plenty of turneps,
and go into a paryard atniglp.
■Mr. William Mann, of Bradfleld, has eiglit
buds out at keep for tenpcnce halfpenny a
head a week. They have their fill of frelh tur-
neps every day ; goingf' a?: head not as foL
lowers. He grazes his twOryear-olds, this
year : in general he fells them m the Ipring to
be kept over-year j but thisycar they being for-:-,
ward he fats them himfclf, and they are doing
fxtremcly well.
K +
75 *
74 -
winter
MAN. OF
CATTLE.
winter
KEEI> ON
TURNEFS.
Digitized by Google
*3^
75 -
CEN. MAV.
OF f AMIS.
FREED OF
SHEEP,
• - .
minutes. Fe».
75 -
Februai^v’ 12. Every foil feems to have its
own ftock.
In Lincolnlhirc the foil is rich} the grafs long
and foft} and the fticep there are large and
inactive ; In Norfolk the' foil is lefs productive ;
the grafs fliort and hard } and the Iheep light
and active.
A Iheep- walk, in this neighbourhood, flocked
joindy with thefe two •varieties of Iheep, con-
tains alfq a variety of foil : one part lying low
is a rich, moift foil ; bearing a foft rich
grafs : another lies high, and is a drier lighter
foil ; bearing a hard benty grafs.
The prefent flock were principally bred in
this ground } and, whether Norfolk or Lincoln-
flure, were many of them perhaps dropt near
the fame fpot on the farne'day } neverthelefs
turn them mifcellaneoufly into this ground and
they will, in a (hort time, feparate themfelves,
even to a fheep } the Lincolnlhires * drawing
off to the Lincolnfhire foil } and the Norfolks
to their own dry fandy loam : and, whilfl there
continues a plenty of grafs in both parts, the
two breeds will keep themfelves as diflinCl and
feparate, as rooks and pigeons.
* Including a mixture of the Huntingdon and Lei-
cefterlhire breeds,
76 .
Digitized by Guugl
Q R F Q K,
jj8a.
76. 7^*
' February 12. The long-wooied ewes breed of
SHEEP
(fee laft Min.) have lambed with great diffi-
culty, this year. The Ihepherd has been
obliged to affift the major part of them.
ewes were therefore kept at grals until man. of
after they had dropt their lambs j the ffiep-
herd having being taug^jit by experience that
ewes at turneps are liable to mortify, on receiv-
ing the fmalleft injury in lambing /much more
liable than at gra&.
77 -
February 1 a. .There feems to be fome- sou-
thing peculiar either to the air or the foil of this
county. The face of a ditch, though formed
pf a dead ill-coloured fubftratum of mould,
becomes, in a few years, black and rich in a
high degree j fo as to be coveted by the farmer
almoft as much as dung. When he re-makes
his fence he carefully faves this rich, or rather
enriched, mould (for according to the cuftom
of ditchers the face is always made of the worft
mould) : or, if he throw. down a fence, he as
affiduoufly preferves both the face and the back
for the bottoms of his fermyard or dunghills.
Does not this incident afford us an idea ap-
plicable to the enrichment of the foil in gene-
ral ?
Digitized by Google
*38
•MINUTES.
Fsir,
77 -
soil.
£f. '-N. OF
SiltLP.
ral ? Is it not highly probable, that by ridg-
ing up a fallow fo as to refe.mble the banks of
ditches, or as nearly as could be done with im-
plements and horfes, the foil would thereby be
meliorated ? ■ ; - - ’ ^
It miglit certainly be done in this way : with
a common plow, gatlaer up the foil into four-
hirro’.v or fix-furrovr ridges, and afterwards,
with a iieavy double -mould- board plow and a
ftrong team*, force up the whole, by degrees,
into high, fliarp, angular ridges ; which, in due
time, migh.t be reverfed in a fimilar manner
• • ■ 78. • - • ,
FnnRUAav 16. Lafl night being uncom-
monly fevere, by wind froft and Ihow, I rofe
early this morning,- to obferve the effedts of
fuch unufual feverity upon the young lambs.
'• I expefted to liave found them fiti'/ering and
fetting up their backs, pinched through v/ith
cold : inflcad of which tiiey were prancing
againrt: tlie trees, and running races in a flack-
yard upon fome hay which the ewes had pulled
out, as if the fun had flione out in the middle
• This would likewifc give an opportunity of deepen-
ing ti>c foil ; and of forming, if pracljcable, a frefn pan.
Soil, \'oL I.)
of
.Digilired by Google
N O K. F O L
ir*
139
of April! — not one pitiful tone, nor n croulteJ
back, among near a IvuridrcJ ani fifty.
The ewes have been well kept all winter ;
and have now plenty of turneps, and a rough
hay-ftack to run to. Tliis ihews tlie efiect of
good keep : the HieplieM very properly ob-
ferved, that let lambs liave plenty of milk, and.
they neither fear nor care for any weather.
What a pleafure, and Iiow profitable, to do
well by dock ! Had thefe ewes been ill kept,
numbers of lambs mutl have been lod during
the lafl fortnight of feverc weatlierj whereas,
with their prefent fluHi of milk, fcarccly one,
of feven or eight fcore, has fullered by it.
79 -
i
February 23. A confiderable p.art of a
farm which lies toward the coaft, being hilly
and very b.adly foiled — more efpecially the
tops and Tides of the hills, which have always
been full of rabbits in Ijiite of all endeavours
to deftroy them — the tenants laft year applied
for leave to convert this part, about ninety
acres, into a rabbit warren. Leave was given,
and an allowance made them of half the efti-
mated expence cf raifing a fodwall fence round
thefe ninety acres,
The
MAN. OF
SHEEP. •
RABBIT
warrem.
Digitized by Google
140
Fek.
79 -
KABBiT
V<.U^K.EN.
MINUTES.
I'hc fence is nearly finirticd, and die warren
Jias, this year, turned out beyond expeftation :
it is valued, by one who ought to be the beft;
judge of its worth, at forty pounds a year i
which is nine. Ihillings an acre.
As the part of a farm, thefe ninety acres arc
not worth five Ihillings an acre ; at the prcicnt
price of barley, they. are not worth more than
four Ihillings an acre.
Thus, for ten pound, a rW improvement of
twenty pound a year has been made and fe-
cured j for the warrener will, through necef-
fity, hereafter keep the fence in repair.
The fence is made about four feet high, and
three feet thick j faced with grecnlward ; and
capped with furze, fo to project eight or ten
inches over the face. Some of it was done for
a Ihilling a rod but the Ipring putting in^
fourteen or fifteen pence a rod of ftven yard^
was obliged to be given.
A neighbouring warrener, this winter, give^
nine -pence for the wall, without the capping ^
which he does not mean to put on till the wall
be thoroughly fetded. This is very judicious:
fcveral rods of that abovementioned Ihot down
in different places.
I'here are feveral patches in the vallies and
fome on the tops of the hills which have ufually
Digitized by ‘
i? 82. K O S. F O L li.
been tilled. Some of thefe were lafl: year, and
■ fome of them ought to be every year, cultiva-
ted for the rabbits : thus, when the grafs
gets foul or mofly, plow it up ; fallow ; fow
tumep-feed for prefent feed (they will not let
rape get up), and to prepare the foil for barley
and grafs-feed the enfuing year. T hus a regu-
lar fucceflion of feedage miglit be kept up.
The way the Norfolk warreners take to de-
ftroy eagles, kites, and other birds of prey, is
natural and fimple. Thefe birds are fliy and
lufpicious : they like to fettle where they can
have a clear view round them for fome dif-
tance ; a naked flump or a hillock is their favo-
rite relling-place. The warreners, therefore,
raife mounds of earth of a conical form in
different parts of die v'arren, and place fleel
traps upon the points of thofe artificial hillocks.
•
8o.
February 28. About tivo months ago, I
took a fample of wheat to North-Walfham
market } with an intent to make myfelf ac-
quainted with the bufinefs of the corn-markets
of this country.
North-Walfham is an afternoon market (fee
Markets, Vol.I.) j corn all fold by fample ;
fome
Ht
79 -
rabbit
WARREW.
MARKETS.
Digitized by Google
FhB.
8o. ,
N.WAI^HAf.I
CORN-
MARK.ET.
MINUTES.
fome in the market place ; but chiefly at the
Inns.
Having made my eledlioh of a miller, and
finding that he “ quartered” at the Bear, I
went to his room (he was not in till near fix)
and flic wed him my fample: namely, about two
handfulls, put in a piece of brown paper ;
which, agreeable to the fafliion of the countiyj
was gathered up in the iiand, and tied with a
firing, in the manner of a pounce-bag.
He alked the price ; I told him tlie befl: he
gave that day ; he faiJ a guinea was the
h.ighcfl; : I had previouCy underflood that a
guinea was “ the top of the market,” and fold
it him ar that price. He aiked how much there
was of it } I told him about 'ikeen coombs.
He marked the name, t!ic quantity, and the
price, upon the bulge of tlie paper, and tiie
bufinefs vras done.
His room was fet round with firm.ers, whOj
the converfation being audible, were wirnefies
to the bargain.
Another fample I took to his mull ; wifliing
to fee the conftruftion and economy of a Nor-
folk mill ; — and afterwards fold him the re*.
mainder of the quantity ; namely, about thirty
coombs.
• Not
• Digitized by Google
Not having received for the two former par- 8o-
cels, he defined I would give him a week’s no- n.walsham
tice before I called upon him for the money, makket.
— Lafl; week I gave him notice, and this even-
ing I have been to receive it.
His room was full of farmers, fmoaking their
pipes, and drinkingp««r/&; excepting one, wicii
■^vhom he was doing bufinefs at a fide-table.
My turn prefently fucceeded ; and we agreed
the account thus :
1782.
Jan. 10. 15 Co. 3 B’s." bare;” or 15
Co. fullmeafure, at 2 1 j. a
coomb, or 21/. a laft of
21 Co. - - ' 15 o
26. 16 Co. 3. at 21/. lor. 17 2 II
Feb. 9. 15 Co. 3. at 22/. lor. 16 17 6
16. 14 Co. 3. at ditto 15 16 I
63 Coombs bare ii 6'
From which he deduced ij. a lafi:
(of 2 1 Co.) for what he called “car-
riage,” being a perquifite to his fer-
vants, - - _ 030
65 8 6
^ Having received the amount, figned a re-
ceipt, and thrown down a fhilli.ng towards the
liquor, the bufinffs was finally concluded.
81.
Digitized by Google
*44
8l.
J’LANTINO.
BREEDING
SHEEP.
MINUTES. ■ f"eb.
Si.'
February a8. Mr. A. Bayfield alkingme
if I would not have fome " wood layer” put
into the places where the pollards {oaken pol-
lards) were taken out againftSuffield Common,
I told him yes, he might have a little oak layer.
** Why,” fays he, with his ufual coolnefs and
good fcnfe, “ would notalitde alhen layerthink
“ you. Sir, be better? I have known alhes thrive
“ rarely well after oaks, but have feldom known
“ oak layer take, where an oaken timber or
pollard has been taken down.”
This is a valuable oblcn^ation. It has long
been obferved, that an old orchard feldom
bears planting as an orchard a fecond time :
nor is wheat after wheat, equal to pulfe or
grafs after wheat ; or wheat after pulfe or
grafs.
82.
March 1 . In drawing off foitie ittixt-bfeed
hoggards for fale, it is obfervablc, that thofe
between long-wooled ewes and a Norfolk ram
are handfomer ftock j and forwarder, than thofe
which have been bred from Norfolk ewes by
a Leicefterfhire ram j and that in this cafe the
ewes have always great didiculry in lariibing.
83.
Digitized by Google
1782. NORFOLK.
83-
March 2. Aflcing a fenfible intelligent far-
mer, who rears a large proportion of calves to
tlie number of cows he keeps, how he gets
milk for his calves, he anfwercd, " turneps
give the cows fuch a flufli of milk the calves
feldom want,”
T urneps, he fays, are fine things for cows :
they fcour and cleanfe them, and fet them for-
ward in the fpring, when they come to be
turned out to grafs ; adding, that cows kept at
dry meat, not only lofe their milk in winter,
but the beft part of the fpring grafs is gone,
before they get to the full of their milk.
This may be one reafon why cows which
have no turneps ^o fo badly in this country i
whofe hay is dry and ftrawy j and the grals far
from being of a fucculent quality.
84.
March 3. This morning I ftood a confi-
derable time to fee fome fatting heifers“ break”
their turneps. Being all at feed, they let me
ftand among them unnoticed j and having
been about four months at the employment,
they performed it with a dexterity, w'hich af-
forded me confidcrable entertainment.
VoL. fi. L In
\
145
83.
TURNERS.
COWS.
BULLOCKS
BREAKING
TURNEPS,
Digitized by Google
MINUTES.
Max.*
146
84.
hi:llocks
breaking
TURKEPS.
In theory, it feems difficult for an animal, dc-
ftitute of paws, and with teeth only in one jaw*,
to get to pieces a ttirnep, which he cannot con-
tain in his mouth ; more elpecially when it is
thrown loofe upon hard ground : one is led to
imagine, that it would roll or Hide away from
him, as he attempted to bite it j but no fuch
thing happens. I law feveral turneps begun
and finiffied without being moved an inch from
the place they fell in from the cart. Had the
bullocks been furniflied with paws, or even
hands, to hold them with, they could not have
done it more dexteroufly.
Having fmelled out a turnep they like, they
prefs it hard againft the ground with the gums
of the upper jaw, applied upon the top of the
turnep, toward the fide which lies fartheft from
them, fteadying it with the upper lip : then
inferring their teeth on the oppofite fide and
biting fomewhat upward, they take off a fmall
piece, proportioned, in fome meafure, to the
fize of the turnep. Having rafted the firft
bite, and fmelt at the broken part, they take
another flice ; perhaps not thicker or larger
than a crown-piece : and thus continue to take
off, or rather fcoop out, flice after flice until
nothing is left but the tail of the turnep, and
a fliell
\
i
bv Google
t^U. NORFOLK.
a (hell 6f rind, in the lhape of a fleeting diflij
and of a fimilar thicknefs j carefully fmelling,
between the bites, at the part they intend next
to take off.
The crown and upper part of the rind they
eat, but feem IhiJioufly to leave the tail, and
die imdcr part of the rind, which had ftodd in
contaft with the foil.
If a bullock break oflT a larger piece than he
can gather up with his tongue as his head hangs
downwards, he lifts up his head, and flidots out
his nofe and neck horizontally, until he gets it
between his grinders. Crowns, and very
fmall turneps, he treats in the fame way.
This part of the bufinefs, however, he per-
forms fomewhat clumfily ; and it is, probably>
in this a<fl that a fmall tutnepj or a piece of a
large one, glancing from between the teeth,
gets into the throat and caufes fufflation, or
“ choaking.”
The tongue of a bullock is lefs flexible, and
worfe adapted to the purpofe of turning over
and adjufting a morfel of folid aliment, than are
the tongues of carnivorous animals, or thofe of
the human fpccies. The natural food (Sit
graminivorous animals is foft, and no way
liable to flip from between the teeth in grind*
La ings
84.
BULLOCKS
BREAKING
TUiWXPS.
Digitized by Google
MINUTES.
Mar.
8 4.
BULLOCKS
BKLrtKlNG
TURNERS.
TIMBER.
ing i their tongues being adapted to the piir-
pofe of gathering tip their aliment, rather than
to that of afllfting them in chewing it.
: 8s-
r March 3. In thinning timber trees, whe-«
ther in hedges, or in open grounds, it is gene-*
rally ad\'ifeable, when two trees grow amicably
together, their branches intermixing, and their
tops of equal height, forming as it were one
top, to leave them both Handing : for, if one of
them be taken away, the beauty of the other is
fpoilr,and its atmofphere changed : the evil
cffcd" of this treatment I have frequently ob-
ferved.
But wlien one of them has got the fuperiorlty
fo far as to overhang the other, it is generally
right to take die underling away, and thereby
add beauty and ftrength to the mafter-plant.
Twin timbers, however,— more particularly
double Hems growing from the fame Hub,— are
dangerous to horned cattle. I have lately
heard of more than one accident by trees grow-
ing fo near together, that cattle could juft: get
their-honis through between them ; and having
got tbeni there could not find the lame way to
. _ . : S ex-
Digitized by Google
-N O R F O L.K.
149
^783.
extricate them ; but falling down in the ftrug-
gle, were ftrangled. I have fince heard of a
liorfe being loft in a fimilar manner *.
86 .
March 5. Mr. John Waller, of Antingham,
fhewed me today, feven ewes with fourteen
lambs by their fides : and a fifteenth, which he
gave to his boy, is alfo alive.
Laft year he had nine lambs from three
ewes i eight of which he actually reared, and
are now alive j namely, fix with the ewes, and
two “ cotts or “ cottiesV (a name for lambs
reared by hand ; a common praiftice here).-
His fheep are, in appearance, of the true
N orfoUc breed. He fays he has had the breed
eight or nine years, and they have fcldom had
lefs than two lambs a piece. He keeps them
•well.
The Norfolk ewes, in general, bring but
one Iamb,
* A ftlll more Angular accident occurred to my own
knowledge. A mare, probably in fighting with the flies,
llruck her hind foot into a cleft between two Hems of
white-thorn, open at the bottom but narrowing ypward ;
and being a high-bred, fpirited mare, ftruggled until flie
lore her fool off ; leaving ii behind her in the clefl !
• L 3 . • 87.
^5:
HtDGE ROW
TlMUtR.
BREED OF
SHEEP.
t.
Digitized by Coogle
J50
.MINUTES.
Mar.
RENFWING
^£DCK.
87.
March 5. Whenthc hawthornis dead thro*
age or improper treatment, or from being over-
hung by trees or ftubwood, it is difficult to get
young layer to “ take” in the old bank. There
«re two things againft it ; the drynefs of the
bank j and its having been already cropped,
Thcfe two objeftions are In a great meafure
removed, with litde inconveniency, or addi-
tional expence, by throwing the bank entirely
down, about Michaelmas j letting it lie /aZ/ow
all winter j tabling the new ditch the latter
end of February; and putting in the layer,
and finifhing the fence, the beginning of
March : for, by this means, the mould gets a
thorough drenching, and receives the benefit of
a winter’s expolure to the froft and fnow.
There are generally roots and flubs in an
old ditchbank fufficient to pay (in this county)
for the labour of throwing it down ; and the
difference between making a new ditch apd
vamping up tire old one, is not more than two-
pence a rod.
T hi^ Minute arifes from a tenant’s being defir-
ous to remake a ditch, which is loaded with
ftubwood of forty or fifty years growthf and
which
d; izi by Coogle
x^i^. NORFOLK.
which has fo totally deftroyed the quick, that
frelh layer would be wanted from end to end.
On examining the bank I found that, from
the cover of the pollards and ftubwood, it is,
even now, as dry as chalk j and entirely occu-
pied by roots and fibres of various forts. I
therefore advifed him to let it remain until
Michaelmas, and treat it in the manner above
deferibed.
He acceded to this the rather, as it is a plan
which is far from being theoretical in Norfolk,
being, I find, frequently pracUfed.
88 .
March 5. Riding acrofs Felmingham
Heath, today, I obferved a piece of new
ditch-bank, out of the face of which young
furzes were (hooting, in the place where quick-
fets are ufually put in j but without any being
amongft them.
Looking round, I perceived that this was not
a mere experiment; for the neighbouring
hedges (of a fort of an encroachment) were of
the fame (hrub ; and many of them invulner-
able fences; even againft the heath ftock.
One which had been recently cut in the face
(with a few left on the top as a bliixi) was as
L 4 thight
151
87.
RENEWING
HEDGES.
rURZR-
H£DG£S.
Digitized by Google
* 5 *
MINUTES.
Mar,
88 .
FURZE.
HEDGES.
THATCH.
thight as a wall. In general, however, they
•were getting much too old j fome of them dy-
ing ; and others thin at the bottom.
I am neverthelefs fully convinced that a-
furze-hedge, •with proper treatment, is, upon a
light unproductive foil, a fufRcient and
eligible fence.
* ' *
89.
* March 7. This morning, went to fee
method of cutting reed.
The time of cutting reed does not commence
until Chriftmas j and continues till tlie young
fhoots begin to appear : the fap is now begin-
, ning to rife ; the Items, below the water, being
. already green.
The cutters have a boat to carry them from
the banks to the “ reed-rond j” which, in this
cafe, lies at a fmall diftance from the fhore.
Some they cut Handing in the boat j fome
Handing on a plank, laid partially, or wholly,
upon the mud and roots of reed, matted inti-
mately together.
The workmen cut it upwards, gathering the
reed in the left hand and arm, underhanded,
with fickles (reaping hooks are too Hipperyfor
the reed) as much below the water, confe-
quently
Digitized by Google,
NORFOLK.
>55
I "82.
quently as near the root, as may be ; it being
an idea, even unto a proverb, that one inch,
below the water is worth two above it ; for the
part which now appears green changes to a
blackilh brown, and becomes as hard as horn j
whereas that which grows above the water is
brittle, and of a more periihable nature.
'• Having encumbered their boat, they pulh it
to tne fnure, and m;-.ke up the reed into Iheaves,
(v/ith thumbands made of w) of fuch a
fize that five of. them will make a fathom of
fix feet in circumference (fometimes the
fi-ieavesarc made fix to a fathom) ; fixty of thofc
fi-.:hf-.ms are a load j and a hundred anchtwenty
are termed a hundred of reed ; worth about
tliree pounds.
The matts of roots frequently feparate in
Ciittimr the reed, and float about the water,
fl ill propagating reeds in finall clumps; not
larger, perhaps, at firft than- the top of a
bulhel.
This feems to be the fpeedieft way of pro-
pagating reed j namely, feparate the beds of
roots ; drag them to different parts of the
water j and faften them with flakes, until tire
roots get hold of the bottom.
The ftarlings have done confiderable da-
mage to this patch of reed : the outfides look
fair i
89.
COTTINQ
a££0.
PROPAGAT.
OF KEEP,
Digitized by Google
»54
MINUTES.
Mar,
89-
STARUKGS
ENEMIES
TO REED.
HEDGES.
HEFCE TOW
TiiuREK.
(iir i but the infides of the dumps arc very
much broken down, by their rooming among
it i more particularly while it was green, before
it had received a firmnefs of ftem to bear them.
I have feen thoufands at once light among it.
In the fens, the reedmen arc great enemies to
thefe birds ; and (if one may judge from tliC
proportional damage they have done in Suffield
pond) with great reafon,
90.
March 8 . I have at length nearly finlflied
fetting out this year’s wood and ditching.
In the courfe of the feafon, I have made the
following oblcrvations, and have endeavoured
to adhere to the following rules, relpcdting
timber trees and pollards in hedges.
In regard to Timber trees, however, I
have not been able to purfue entirely the line
of conduct I have laid down, from this and laft
year’s experience : it may, neverthelefs, be
right, while the fubject is full and frclh in my
mind, to minute my prefent ideas on this im,-
portant department of rural economy.
I am clearly of opinion, that all fuch tim-
ber trees as are now decaying ; aljo fuch as
are full-grown, though not yet decaying, but
are fo fituared as to overhang or otherwife
crowd
Digitized by Google
NORFOLK.
,1782.
crowd the neighbouring {lands or timbcrlings,
or the young timber trees which are in a more
youthful and growing flate ; aljo fiich part of
the growing timbers themfelves, as, by (land-
ing too clofe, crowd and check each other,
fhould be marked, and fold at the prefcnt mar-
ket prices ■, though thefe prices may be fome-
what below par.
For, if to the intered of the money, which
would arife from fuch fale, be added the de-
creafe of value, or the injury incurred by fuf-
fering timber of the above dcfcription to re-
main {landing, the proprietor of fuch timber
is lofing annually from five to ten per cent, of
its prefent value, by fuch improper conduft.
Thus fuppole an cftate has five thoufand
pounds worth of timber upon it, bearing the
above dcfcription ; its proprietor is lofing
from three to five hundred pounds a year by
fuffering it to remain (landing.
Whenever the price (hall hereafter rife to
what may be efteemed a fair Iclling price,
then, but not till then, falls ought to be made
of all full-groivn timbers ; alJo of fuch grow-
ing trees as, from their fituation, are, or may
foon become, injurious to each other. Much,
no doubt, depends on embracing the lucky
moment of fale ^ neverthelcfs, perhaps, more
money
15s
90.
HtDGEROW
TIMBER.
Digitized by Google
> 5 ^
90 ,
HIDGE ROW
MINUTE S. Mar.
money has been loll than gaineci, by fpecu-
lat’mg nicely in this delicate matter.
The dead wood and hanging boughs of all
timber trees left (landing ouglit to be removed ;
and the younger timberlings trained in fuch
manner as will induce them to take the defired
outline, and rife in the mod profitable form.
Oaks, in hedges, naturally grow low and
(preading, doing more injuiy to the hedge and
the adjoining inclofiues than their own value,
in that form, can ever repay ; whereas tall
well headed oaks are at once ornamental and
valuable to an eftate ; — without being, in any
confiderable degree, injurious to the occupier.
Being fully convinced of this, from almoft
daily obfervation, I am clearly of opinion, that
eveiy opportunity ought to be taken to propa-
gate oaks in hedges ; not by putting in young
plants where old trees have been taken down ;
but by fcarching for, and prefer * ing, young
fccdling plants (more cfpecially where a hedge
is cut down), and carefully training them up
wherever a vacancy will admit them : — Or, if
fuch do not rife naturally, by putting in tranl'-
pianted plants in vacant hedge banks and wade
corners i at the fame time dibbling acorns
rou.nd them, in order that. In die courle of a
few
Digitized by Google
NORFOLK.
*57
1782.
few years, the woodman may have his election
of the propcreft plant to be trained.
This however is not the bufinels of a day,
nor of one year, but requires an annual atten-
tion j embracing convenient times, and favor-
able opportunities, as the bufinefs of the eftate
is prolecutcd ; confidering this as one of the
molt material objects belonging to its manage-
ment.
With refpeft to the Pollards, I have fol-
lowed thefc rules : —
Such as were not likely to throw out, in
twenty or twentyfive years, a top equ.J to the
prefent value of their ftems, I valued to the
tenants as fire -wood.
Thus fuppofing the body of an old pollard
to be worth, as firewood, two (hillings ■, but
from the appearance of the prefent top, when
compared with thole of the neighbouring pol-
lards, it was not likely to throw out, in twenty
or twentyfive years time, another top of two
(hillings value, I marked it to come down, and
charged the tenant two fliillings for it, over and
above the value of its prefent top : for the in-
tereft of the money will, at the end of that
time, be more than the topwood would have
been had it been left Handing j befide the
mould-
90.
TIMBER.
HEDGE ROW
POLLARDS.
Digitized by Google
> 5 *
MINUTES.
Ma«<
90.
moCE ROW
POLLARDS.
mouldering and wafte of its own body, and the
incumbrance it would have been to the eftate.
Such, alfo, as flood particularly in the te-
nant’s way, or which crowded a young fland
or timber, or where they flood too thick, I
took down, valuing them to the tenant as fire-
wood i but with this invariable provifo, that
if, on cutting off their butts, they proved found,
they were to be taken for the ufe of the land-
lord ; the tenant having a deductory allowance
made for the quantity of firing blocks fo taken.
Allb, if a pollard, of a proper fize, appeared
to be at prefent found enough for a gatepoft
(more particularly if gatepofls were wanting
upon the farm they flood on), but which from
its prefent appearance it would not be at the
time the ditch would want to be made the next
time, I marked it to come down ; — for a good
hanging-poft is worth five Ihillings ; whereas a
firing pollard of the fame fize is not worth
more than one fliilling.
But fuch thriving pollards as did not fland
particularly in the way of the fence or the te-
nant, and fuch as were not wanted for any
particular ufej alfo fuch as were likely to throw
out anotlier top, and flood well upon the bank,
lb as not to injure materially cither the tenant
or
Digitized by Google
/
i? 82 . N O R F O L Ki
or the fence, I invariably left Handing: for, al-
though coals may at prefent be plentiful, and
coafting-vcflcls fufficiently numerous, and have
an unobftrudled pafiage from Newcaftle to
Cromer j yet who can foreknow the revolu-
tions in nature and nations which may hereafter
take pbee ? and who will be hardy enough
to fay that Ealt Norfolk cannot experience a
want of materials for firing ? The face of the
country is no doubt at prefent too much en-
cumbered with pollards, to the great incon-
veniency of its prelent occupiers : but it may
be well to lefTen their number with a prudent
hand; lell, by Iweeping them away indilcri-
minately, we may entail on pofterity a ftill
greater inconveniency.
91 -
March 14. On Monday evening laft,
about eight o’clock, the wind rofe very high ;
blowed hard all night j continued blowing all
day on Tuefday; and in the evening blew a
violent gale.
There
*59
90.
HFDOE ROW
POLLARDS,
REPAIRS.
Digitized by Googl
minutes.
Mah,
t6o
91.
REPAIRS.
THATCH.
REID.
REPAIRS.
There has fcarcely one thatched roof upon
this eftate efcaped, entirely, its fury. Many of
them however are only ruffled; but great
numbers (an hundred at lead) are broken,
more or lefs ; fome of the breaches confidera-
ble : while the tiled roofs liave efcaped with-
out any confiderable injury.
Had the praftice, propofed in Min. 6j.
been adopted a few years ago, perhaps not a
breach would have happened ; for where the
roofs have been overlooked in the courfe of the
laft year, even the thatched ones arc hardly
ruffled 5 whereas, in the date in which feveral
of them dill remained, there is three or four
months work of a thatcher to repair them.
.Reed in particular ought to be driven or re-
laid whenever it begins to dip, or the bindings
begin to decay : — it is the reed roofs in general
which have fufFered.
There is one advantage in reed, how^ever;
it may mod of it be gathered up and relaid.
92.
March 14, The bricklayer and thatcher
employed upon this edate live at a didance. —
This
Digitized by GoogI
»7S2. NORFOLK.
This inconvenienqr I have frequently expe-
rienced, but never fo much as now, when
i’uch a number of petty, but exigent, jobs have
been created by the late high winds ; — the
tenants are folicitous to have their furniture
and their corn fccuredt from the wet, and I
cannot give orders to the thatcher or brick-
layer without riding or fending two or three
miles to them, or their coming as far out of
their way to me.
Upon a large eftate, a matter or foreman
carpenter, matter bricklayer, thatcher, and
blackfmith, ought to live in the immediate
<ieighbourhood of the managen
93 *
March i6. Since the late fevtre Weather
fet in, it has been remarked that bullocks
abroad iiave done unUfuilly 111 ; while thofe in
fheds have done well. (See Mit?. 69.)
Are not thefe fufficient hints td farmers, to
keep their bullocks abroad irt warm weather,
and take them up, or at leaftpar them, in fevere
weather ? While they are buds and two-year-
olds, they afe nurfed in a warm well-kidded
paryard j but, at a time when they afe en-
VoL. II. M titled
gii
REPAIRS.
CEN. MAN.
OF ESl AXES;
BULLOCKS
AT
TURNEPS;
Digitized by Google
x6i
MINUTES.
Mar.
93 -
BULLOCKS
AT
TURNIPS.
titled to every indulgence the farmer can give
them, they are cxpofcd to the weather, be it
ever fo inclement j with fcarcely a hedge to
Ihelter them : their only flicker being, too
frequently, nothing better than a row of naked
buck-ftalled thornen bulls.” — No wonder,
then, that after the remarkably mild weather
we had, at the beginning of winter, .the late
fuddcn change fliould give a check to fuch as
have been expofed abroad * j deftitute of fhelter,
and, confequently, deftitute of that tempera-
ture of «»/«</ as well as of body, which,
is elTential to their thriving.
Mr. Cook, of Felmingham, whofe opinion*
in this cafe is valuable, corroborates thcle ob-
fervations ; fo far, at leaft, as diey relate to
the temperature of the body. A good lodging,
he fays, is a great thing to a bullock his
exprcfllon was, “ it keeps them warm within }
“ and when they get up they ftretch them-
“ felves, fhooting out their hind legs as if
“ they meant to leave them behind in the par-
yard.” — Whereas after having lain upon
the cold ground, more elpecially if it be wef,
" they become cold on the infide j and, on
” rifing, ftick up their backs, with their four
. * Homcbreds are here fpokcn of.'
“ feet
Digiazcd by Google
■J
NORFOLK.
163
tj8a.
feet drawn togetKcr, as if they were afraid to
“ move them from the place they ftand in.”
C old weather, he fays, no doubt checks bullocks
which go abroad very much j lUore efpecially
if it he wet ; adding, that “ if their backs be dry
** they do not lb much mind the cold.”
t •
94 - .
March 25. Aylsham Fair. Thisfeems
to be a fair appropriated to dealings between
farmer and farmetj rather than to drovers and
profcinonal dealers.' It b chiefly noted for
plow horfes } which, at this leafon of the year*
become valuable to the Norfolk farmer ; every
hand and hoof becoming bufily employed
againft barley feedtime. It is, however, upon
the whole, a fmall fair j and the fairftcad un-
commonly fmall and incommodious.
Today the number of cattle were very few ;
not more than one hundred head in the fair :
and thofe, in general, of a refuft kind. '
It feems to be a fad, univerfally underftood,
that the quantity of ftock in this county has,
of late years, very much declined. T here have,
it is generally allowed, been fewer young cat-
tle reared of late, than there were formerly :
owing, it is thought, to the lownefs of price ;
M 2 arifing
93 -
bullocks
AT
TURHEPS,
MARJUSTS.
CATTH.
Digitized by Google
1&4
M 1 N U T E S.
Mar.
94-
fair OF
avlsham.
r i * *
CATTLE.
ilORSB?. " ■
arifing probably from a fcarcky of money, and
from the failure of the turnep crops, for fomc
years back. . - . .
Xhe few wjiich were in the fair today, leemed
principally, to cpnlift of fiich as had been ac
turneps j and. had got a little flelhy ; but ftill
required a confiderable time, and good keep,
to finifh them. There were alfo a few cows and
calves, and a little young ftock. The number
of horfes was confiderable (perhaps a hundred)
fet up againft rails, placed on a rifing ground,
to Ihew their forehands to advantage. Ten to
twelve pounds the higheft prices j even for
young horfes.
I
KAVTINC.
.. : . 95 -
March 26. This morning marked out the
weedling plants of a plantation, made by the
late Sir William Harbord, twentyfivfc to thirty
years ago *.
It confifts of the following fpecies of trees:-—
. Oaks, Scotch Fir,
• Alh,' ■ ■ Larch,
Beech, Alder,
- Chefiiut, Hornbeam.
•'bn counting the rings of different fpecies, I found
the number to be thirty or tkirt) one.
i * ' ' The
Digitized by Googl
i^8a, NORFOLK.
The Scotch fir has outgrown every other
Ipccies j and the plants, though few, are be-
come a burden to the grove. - The wood being
of quick growth, the plants have not only out- •
topped the reft, but have, in general, had time •
enough to furnilh themfelves with boughs oh .
every fide j fo as to cripple the beautiful oaks
and beeches which (land near them. If^ there-
fore, Scotch firs be planted in a grove, by
way of variegation, they ought to be kept trim- ’
med below J which would check their growth,"
and in fome meafure prevent their doing-
mifehief : bhr, even with this reftri(ftion, they
ought to be admitted into fociety with a fpar-
ing hand. • ' ■*
The larcbesy too, where they ftand free from’
the Scotch firs, arc of a confiderable fize j but
they are not equally mifehievous with thole j
their boughs being Icfs extenfive, and more’
rotted oS below : they are, nevcrthelels, inju-
rious to their leafy neighbours. Where they
ftand thick, among tlie firs, they are drawn up
ftrikingly tall and flcnder,or are fo much over- ’
hung as to be crippled, or entirely fmothered.
—Marked great numbers that were dead or
dying.
The oaks are many of them beautiful plants
but are cither entirely crippled by the firs and
M 3 larches.
95 -
planting.- -
Digitized by Coogle
(65
M I N U T E $,
Mas,
95. larches, or, where there U any head-room, are
PLANTING, drawn up much too tall and (lender. ,
The fame may be faid of the beeches ; and it
is curious, though painful, to fee how they
ftruggle for the light, wheiever they can Jee a*
peep-hole. •
The ejhes too, where they ftand among thc;
firs and larches, are cither fnjothered outright,
or are drawn up much too tall and (lender. In’
a part where they ftand alone, without any ad.«
mixture except a few alders, there are fdmc'
moft^autifol plants.
The chejnutt if one may judge from this in-
1 ftance, is totally unfit for a mifcellaneous
grove. There is fcarcely one of this fpecies'
enjoys tlie fmalleft portion of fun(hine t the
few which ftill exift are chiefly underlings ;
and fome of them not much larger than when
they were planted. - •
It muft be obferved, however, that much
may depend on the /oil. This plantation di-
vides a rank moory meadow from a good,
found, upland foil j fomc parts of it partaking
of thc former, fome of the latter quality.
. Thc larches and the chelhuts, obvioufly, do
bed on the dry foil. The Scotch firs, too,
fccm to have gone off upoa the moory foil ;
there
Digitizr ■ by C'l'ogl
1782. NORFOLK..
there being fome, but very few, left upon ttj
and thofc coarfe and ftunted. The afhes do re-
markably well on the moory parts. In one parti-
cular place j not the wetteft } there is a parcel
of perhaps the moft beautiful plants that ever
grew— their fkin as fmooth and clean as that of
the beech ; and, though not more than twenty-
one inches in circumference, they are not lelj
than forty feet in height; and as ftraight as gun-
barrels. The oaks, beeches, and a few horn-
beams, thrive wherever they have been plant-
ed, and can get their heads out. They do not,
however, feem to have been planted on the
very wet parts.
The large ft of the firs meafure in ^rcum-
ference, at five feet high,
39 jpehes.
Larches,
36
Chefnuts,
28
t 1
Beeches,
32
Alders,
32
Alhes,
21
Oaks, - ■«
28
Hornbeams, - , -
—
The greateft colleftive height of the planta-
tion is about forty feet.
This plantation furnilhes a ftriking inftance
ef the mifehiefs enfuing from the want of a
proper attention to infant groves.
M 4
x6y
95 -
PLANTING.
Digitized by Coogle
NORFOLK.
«
might be -drawn from tliis fmall plantation :
enough to keep the common buildings of the
cftatc in repair for forne years ; ami this, tr-'),
with a trifling expence of fawing cor- -'nr d
with that which is neccflary to the m
of grown timbers into fmall fcancling * ,
96.
April 3. Spent the afternoon with the
Rev. Mr. Horfeley, of Swayfield ■, and walked
w'ith him over his improved meadows,
: They are the only meadows in the county
(at Itaft that have fallen under my obfervation)
which have been managed with any degree of
fpirit or judgment,
Mr. Horfeley fays, that when he purchafed
them (fome eight or ten years ago) they were
a mere morafs : fo very rotten that it v. as dif.
ftciilt even for a man to walk acrofs them ;
producing vciy little lierbagc fuperior to rufhes
and mofs, They arc now (even after tliis un-
commonly wet feafon) firm enough to bear the
largeft cattle i and are covered with a turf
equal in appearance to the richeft grafsland.
• i flatter myfelf no apology is nccefiary for the length
of this Minute : planting is an important branch of rural
affairs ; and it is iu tall plantations, rather than in tlio
jiyrfery, we ought to ftudy the great principles o/the art.
Mr,
95 *
■WEEDING
PLANTA.
TIONS.
MEADOWS,
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M I N. U T E S.-
Ariii
J70
96. Mr. H.’s plan of improvement vras this
MEADOWS. Having lowered a rivulet, which runs through
them, fo as to fink the furface of the water about *
four feet below the furface of the meadow, he
curdrains, feven feet wide, atid four feet deep,
farallel to the rivulet j and, with the excavated
mould, filled up the fmall drains which had
formerly been cut ; and levelled the other iri-
. equalities j fo as to render the furface fmooth
and even. ’
Thefe drains were at firft made at about
twenty or thirty yards diftance from each other;
but Mr. H. is now filling the major part of
them up ; they having performed the office of
laying the ground dry ; and he is of opinion,
that the rivulet and the fence-drains, alone,
will be fufficient to keep it fo.
Thefe meadows confill of eighteen acres ;
divided at prefent into four “ fliifts,” by the
rivulet and two parallel main drains ; which
are barely feven feet vade; but the cattle fome-
times attempt them ; and eight feet — lay half
a rod — is the leaft width that fence-drabs
ought to be made.
The ruffies were llibdued b)» the fithe, the
mofs by manure, and the herbage improved by
the fweeping of the hay chamber feattered on,
in
•Digiii/wd by Google
1782. N O R: F O L K.
in the fpnng. Neither the harrow, nor the
roller, has yet been introduced.
Mr. H.’s method of treating his meadows,
now in their improved ftate, is to parture them
every year, and to fhift his (lock repeatedly ;
beginning at one end, and proceeding regu-
larly, fo as to make two or three revohrtions'in
the coiirfe of the fiimmer: and, whenever he
takes his Hock out of one of his pieces, he
makes a point of fweeping down the weeds
and rough graft. An admirable praftice ; hy
which a frelh rowen-like bite is prepar- d
againft tlic return of the (lock ; befides the
weeds being thereby “eflc6lually kept under:
. Mr. H. fays, that he has fatted both fliecp
and bullocks on this improved ' moraft ; and*
that they fat very kindly. He further fays,
that it gives cows a great flow of milk ; and
Mrs. H. that the butter from It is perfecHy
good.
Enqui^in2^^f Mr. Horfeley, if he had kept
an account of his expences iince his firft pur-
chafe; he laid, no ; but /was clear iii the main
fact; namely, that the improvement greatly ex-
ceeds the expence of improving : adding, that
he could have fold the land, in its improved
ftate, for twice die amount of the purchaie-
money..
17 »
96.
GRASSI.ANB'
JIIANAGEM.
Digitized by Google
96.
meadows.
JCLLOCKS
AT
TVRNtpS.
MINUTES. ApRi 1
I
money. It has every appearance of being now
worth from twenty to twenty-five (hillings an- |
acre.
97 -
April 14. I have given particular atten«
tion to the management and progrels of the- j
two lots of bullocks, which I was prefe'nt at the j
buying of, at St. Faith’s fair. (See Min. 27.)- 1
It is a ftriking and interefting fadl, that, not-,
withftanding there was only fifteen (hillings a
head difference, in the purcha(c-money of thcle
two lots, there is not lefs than forty (hillings a '
piece difference in their prefent value.
A great advantage, no doubt, arifes, to a
judge of cattle, from having the choice of a.
drove ; drawing out only a few of the head-
bullocks. But in this cafe the drove was.
fmall } and I remember Mr. B. was dubious
in his choice of the laft two or three of his lot:
the difparity, therefore, at the time of pur-
chal'c was not very great ; being, in fome indi-
viduals, Icarcely perceptible to the eye of a
judge.
From thefe and other circumftances, I am
convinced that much depends upon t'ne ma-
of bullocks at turneps, as well as
upon.
! '* Digitized by Google
- — ...
j; 82 . NORFOLK.
upon judgment in purchafmg them ; for, of
fevcral parcels of fatting bullocks, which I have
had an opportunity of making my obferva-
tions upon, this winter, none have dene equally
to Mr. B.’s lof of heifers.
His tumeps, no doubt, are good ; and fo
are thofe of many of his neighbours j and the
fuperiority of management appears to lie in
letting them have plenty of frefh turneps;
with plenty of followers : and in their being
regularly Ihifccd every day.
98.
April 14. What a trifling expcnce of la-
bour has been incurred by farm, from
Michaelmas 1780, to Michaehnas 1781.
It contains near four hundred acres of arable
land i with about fifty acres of meadow.
The whole expence of workman’s wages,
the harveft month included, is no more
than - - - 186 2 71
To which muft be added, the
bailiff’s falary - 35 o O
1 71
Thus the whole expence of labour and houfe-
keeping (for the bailiff and all the men boarded
thcmfclvcs and drank tlicir own beer) is not
nearly
173
97 *
BULLOCKS
AT
TURNS.'S.
GEM. MAN.
OF FARMSi
Digitized by Google
17 +
9^.
LABOUR.
RENT.
LABOUR-
son.
rRuciss.
MHILV.
MINUTED. Apr.
nearly equal to the rent of the land : for this
' farm, if freed from game, is worth from two
hundred and fifty to three hundred pounds &
year. ....
A farm of the fame magnitUfle in Surrey or
Kent could not have been managed for twice
the money. And tliis accounts for the high
price which land bears in Norfolk. Land
wliich lets here for fifteen fiiillings an acre,
would not in Surrey or Kent (at twenty miles
diftance from Ixindon) let for more than half
the money.
The lov/nefs of wages ; the quick dilpatch
of bufinefs j and, moft elpecially, tlie praftice
of plowing widi two horfes, and going two
journies a day i account in a great meafure for
the difparity.
■ 99.
April 16. The Ihepherd telling me that
a cutter in the neighbourhood could extradl the
concealed tefiicles of ridgil lambs ; and he hav-
ing laft year experienced the inconveniency of
three or four of thefc troublefome and dan-
gerous animals, I let him fend for him. This
morning he has cut three j the whole number,
it feems, this year. They are now from fix to
eight weeks <;ld.
Having
Digitized by Googl
ij 82 . NORFOLK.
Having cut off the end of the bag, and
drawn the tefticle contained in it, he proceeded
to take the other out of the fide oppofite to
that on which the palpable tefticle lay*.
The lamb was laid fiat on its fide, upon the
ground ; one man holding it by its neck and
fore legs ; and another ftretching it out, by
drawing its hind legs back ; both of them at
the fame time preffing their hands hard to the
ground fo that the lamb had no liberty to
ftruggle.
The cutter then dipt off a patch of wool,
about the fize and lhape of a duck’s egg, dole
below the loin, and about half way between
the huckle and the fliort ribs.
He then made an incifion, wide enough' to
admit, freely, his fore finger ; with which he
fcarched for the ftone, and prefently brought it
out; and, difentangling it very dexteroufly
from the film with his knife, drew out the
ftringi
He immediately fowed up the orifice, and
coated over the wound v/ith cart-greale.
• It incrcafes the difBcuhy in cutting ridgils, when the
palpable tefticle has been priorly extracted ; as the opera-
tor, then, knows not which fide to cut bn; and is fre-
quently obliged to cut both Tides before he finds the con-
cealed tefticle.
It
99 *
CUTTING
RiDCn.
LA.MBS.
Digitized by Googl
MINUTES.
Apr.
>76
99.
cottinc
RIDCIL
LAMBS.
It is remarkable that the concealed tefticlcs
all lay on the fame fide j namely, the rig’nc
fide i the contrary fide to that on which fe-
males arc cut. This made the operation rather
awkward to his Iwnd ; he neverthelefs per-
formed the bufinefs fo (kilfully, and with fo
much dexterity, that he extracted the two firft
in a few minutes. But the laft was a remark-
ably difficult cafe ■, the tefticle being very
fmall, and braced up clofe to the vertebras j
and it is obfervable, he could fcarcely draw
the palpable tefticle of this lamb out of its bag:
tlie punifliment to the animal feemed full as
much in one operation as the oifier.
The price of cutting, a ftiilling a piece.
April c 2. The wind being cold, kept
them in the houfe all night ; — but the cutter,
tliough the wind continued very pinching,
thought it proper for them to go out in the day-
time for the fake of cxercife ; they got very
ftifi^Tor foipe days, butarc now doing very Avell.
Ap.ril 30. One of them, neverthelefs, is
fince dead : — owing, I apprehend, entirely to
their being too much expofed to an unufuaily
piercing cafterly wind.
too.
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K d it F O L fc.
*/7
100, loo, ■
' April 20 . There is an alertnefs in the fer- workmen,
vahts and labourers of Norfolk, which t have
riot obferved in any other Diftridf.
That “ cuftom is fecond nature” is verified
every hour. How quick and alert are the
tnidcfpeople and handicraftmen in London!
They will difpatch as much bufinefs in a given
time, as the very lame people, had they been
bred in fomc parts of the country, would have
done in twice that time. The cale is fimilar
with the Norfolk hulbandman: While a bby,
he is accuftomed to run by the fide of the
horfes while they trot with the harrows;—
When he becomes a plowman, he is accuftom**
ed to ftep out at the rate of three or four miles
an hour : andj if he drive an empty team, he
either does it Handing upright in his Carriage,
with a fprighdinefs of air, and with a Iceming
pride and fatisfaftion, or runs by the fide of his
horfes while they are bowling away at full trot.
Thus, both his body and his mind become
active: and if he go to mow, reap, or other
employment, his habit of a<5livity accompanies
him ; — and is obvious even in his-air, his man-
ner, and his gait.
VpL. II. N On
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178
MINUTES.
May
i6o.
WORKMEN.
MARKETS.
On the contrary, a Kentilh plowman, accuf-
tomed from his infancy to walk, whether at
harrow, plow, or cart, about a mile-and-a-half
or two miles an hour, preferves the fame flug-
gilh ftep, even in his holidays ; and is the fame
flow, dull, heavy animal in everything he does.
That the Norfolk farm-labourers difpatch
more work than thofe of other countries is ah
undoubted fadt •, and in this way, I think, it
may be fully accounted for.
lOl.
May 4. Went this morning to fee the
clover -Jeed market at Norwich.
- The feeds are brought chiefly from Suffolk,
and the Suffolk fide of Norfolk. Many of
them are in the hands of the growers them-
fclves; fome in thofe of jobbers, who colledb
them of the farmers. They are principally
contained in coomb facks, containing four
bufhels, of fixtyfix pounds each, together with
two pound a bufhel for over- weight j fo that
a bufhel is only a term ufed for fixtyeight
pound of clover feed, at Norwich mftirket: or
for fixtyfix pound, in other parts of the county.'
' The leeds’are principally brought into mar-
ket in thefe coomb facks j in which feveral
» • • • hundred
Digitized by Google
' 1782. N o R b i k;
hundred buHiek may be feeh (landing ; and
in the middle of the market are a pair of large
fcales, adapted to the weighing of a whole fack,
or a lefs quantity j the farmers paying fo much
a draft for the uie of Ihem.
Befide what are thus brobght into market,
the dealers have quantities at their refpcdlive
Ufarehoufes • ; arid great quantities are alfo
fold by corn merchants, and even bankers, by
fample. Indeed^ at this feafon of the year,
almoft every man of bufinefs, who has got a
little loofe money, is a dealer in clover-feed.
The market, however^ does not con fid
wholly of red clover-feed there are propor-
tional quantities of “ fuckling” (white clover) ;
alfo of “ hulled Nonfuch” (trefoil) ; alfo of
black Nonfuch” (trefoil in the hulk) > alfo
bf “ white Nonfuch” (darnel or ray-grafs) j
and of black and white Nonfuch}” namelyi
a mixture of the two laft forts.
• One Cunningham is by much the lar^eft dealer : he
lives near Harlellone : and buys tip his feed in that neigh-
bourhood, and in SuiFolk. Enquiring as to the quantity
fold, I was told (in the afternoon) that he had fold, in the
courfc of this day, a hundred coomb of clover-feed !—
tliirty or forty coomb of it, however, were to country
dealers.
Ni The
lOI.
CLOV. SEEO
MARKET.
Digitized by Google
MINUTES.
May
iSo
101 .
CLOVER-
SEED MARK.
BULLOCKS
AT
TURNERS.
The prices, more particularly of “clover,”
(that is, red clover) are very fluftuating : laft
year, prime feed was bought from eighteen to
twenty (hillings a buflicl. It has been known
fo low as fifteen (hillings ; and three pounds ten
(hillings a bufhel has been given in this market.
T oday, the prices were as follow :
Clover, twenty (hillings to thirty (hillings a
budiel.
Suckling, fixpence to eightpence a pound.
Darnel, twelve to fifteen (hillings a coomb.
102 .
May 4. A fortnight ago, Mr. . ■
fent twelve of his Scotch heifers, bought at St.
Faith’s, (lee Min. 27. and 97.) to Smithfield.
Today, he (hewed me the falefman’s ac-
count.
They fold from eight pounds five (hillings
to eleven pounds a piece — the neat proceeds a
hundred and ten pounds, or nine pounds five
(hillings a head. They coft fix pounds fifteen
(hillings ; fo that they left a profit of about
fifty (hillings a head.
They were at turneps about twentyfive
weeks ; and confequently paid no more than
two (hillings a week for their keep, norwith-
ftanding the pre(cnt high markets.
They
Digitized by Uooglr
I
1782. NORFOLK.
They were not highly finiflied ; but turneps
being almoR done, and grafs backward, the
proprietor of them judged wifely in felling off
the beft of them now, that he may be able to
finilh the remainder the more highly with
grafs,
103. ’
May 5. The late beating rains have waffl-
ed down the face of many hundred rods of
ditching. New-raifed ditches have luffcred
mofl j but where the face looked to the north-
eafl:,* ditches which have been made even two
or three years, have fufFered confidcrably.
Where new ditches have been ralfed this
Ipring, in the Norfolk manner f namely, very
upright, with the layer planted ahnoft at the
top of the bank j much mifehief i? dpnej for
not only the face, but the Jayer alfo, Ijes by the
heels in the “ holl,” for many rods in a place ;
and this, it feems, is a misfortune not uncom-
mon in Norfolk j yet ^1 the formers perfift
in raifing their live fences in this moft injudi-
cious manner.
I have the fotisfoftion to fee thofe ditches
which 1; raifed laft year, with an offset, and
wit)i the layer planted on the firll fpit, all '
N 3 ftanding;
i8i
102 .
BULLOCKS
AT
TUKNEPS.
RAISING
HEDGES.
Digitized by Google
to
MINUTES.
Mav
i8}
RAISING
IIEDGES.
ftanding : indeed, ditches raifed in this man-
ner, “ cannot readily take eflential hurt by beat-
ing rains j for (hoidd either the foot or the
upper part of ^e facing fhoot, the layer is ftill
i'afe.
It is the cuftom here to oblige the ditchers
to make good the breaches of the firft year,
gratis. This, however, if the work was pro-
perly done, is this year rather hard upon them.
But be this as it may, there needs not A ftrongef
‘ proof of the frequent mifearriages of Norfollq’
4 tches than this cuftorp. ' ' ‘
*■ ••
I 04.
May 5. It feems to be a growing pradicc,
in this country, to fow furze-feed on the backs,,
or rather upon die tops, of ditchbanks.
There is, however, one great evil attends it, ’
when fown upon the top ; for growing quicker
than the hawthorn, the furze, in a few years,
oYcr-hangs, and fmothers the young hedgelingi
elpecially if it be negled:ed to be cut down, or
trimmed off on the face fide: 'a work which
is too often, and, indeed, almoft uhiveffally
negledfed., ' '
But if the feeds be fown upon the back of
die bank, this evil is in a great' meafure pre-
vented
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i>82.’ N O R F O L K: 183
vented ■, and the furze being principally in-' 1 04. ^
tended as a defence of the back of the bank raising
from cattle, it is extraordinary that the cuftom'
^ t
of fowing it upon the top Ihould continue.
Laftyear, I fowed upwards of a hundred'
rods, and this year about two hundred: .my!
method has been this.
Two menj with a Ipade, a broom, and a .sowing
common glafs bottle, furnifhed with a peifo- seed.
rated Hopper*, proceeded thus; the firftman
chops a drill with his Ipade, from two to three
inches deep, and at about two-thirds of the
height of the bank. In this fiflure the other
man fcatters the feed through the hole in the
cork, at the rate of thirty long rods to a pound
of feed. This doqe, one of them, ^ order to
repair the cracks and partial breaches made,
on the bank by chopping the 'drill, pats it
with the back of his fpade above and below,
the mouth of the drjU, which is purpolely left,
open ; while the other, with the broom, fweep-
ing upwards oyer the mouth of the drill, covers
the fted with loofe mould j yet leaves the
•
• A wooden cork! pderced with a gimblet, about the Az<5
*»f a fwan’s quill ; the infide burnt fmooth with a wire,'*
and the outfide bound with thread to make it Aick fecurely '
ip the month of the bottle.
N 4 mouth
Digitized by Google
184.
«. •
104.
SOWING
fURZfi.
5£ED.
HIDGE
▼OODS.
MINUTES. Mav
mouth fufficiently open to permit the young
plant? to make their way eafily out of it j an4
to catch the rains which trickle, down the up-?
per part of the bank *.
Two men will fow 120 rods a day 024
Four pounds of feed, at 1 5d. 050
/•o 7 4
Somewhat more than one halfpenny each fta-
tute rod, for feed and fowing.
On light fandy foils, in which the furze ge-^
nerally thrives abundantly, but where white-
thorn, if the foil be barren as well as light, is
an age in coming to a hedge adequate as a
fence, the furze is the moft eligible ftirub to be
propagated fingly j and in every foil in which
the plants will thrive, it is an excellent guard
to the back of the ditch, forming a much
warmer ftielter for cattle than white-thorn, or
any other deciduous Ihrub, owing to its nu-
merous branches and leaves j more efpecially.
• The (hooting of the bank is the only thing to«be
feared in this cafe ; it ought not therefore to be made too
fipep; and ought at the time of making, to be fowed with
gfah-fepds. (See Hipcss, Vol. 1.)
if
Digi'izc by Google
pfe. Q R F Q I, K.
if thefe be increafed by timely cutting } or,
which is much preferable, by trimming off
the end^ of the branches.
The almoft only inconveniency of a furce
hedge, is its becoming liable to be killed by ‘
fevere froft. It is probable, however, that a
hogged hedge would ftand the froft better than
one which is fuffered to overgrow itfel^ and
cxpofe its roots and ftems to the inclemency of
the weather : even ftioidd a hogged hedge be
killed tp the root, it feems probable that thro'
the numeroufnefs and compaftneft of its ftems
and branches, it would remain a fufficient dead
hedge, until another live one might be raifed
fyom frelh feed.
Another inconveniency of a furze hedge is,
in theory at leaft, its Ihedding its feed, and
over-fpreading the adjoining land. This in-
conveniency, however, I have not feen in Nor-
folk : and I believe is not to be apprehended,
if “ French feed” (which may be had of any
fee4fm^ |n London) be fown,
ID5.
i8i
104.
SPECIZS or
HEDGE '
WOOD.
Digitized by Google
i86
MINUTES.-
Mav
105* ' 105.
MARKETS, ■ ■May 8. Walsh am Fair. — T his fair,
■•which is I’.ddthe Wednefday fe’nnight before
Whirfunday, is a confide rablc fair for fat bul-
locks j aha ic>r cows and calvesj and young
Cock.
. The cattle begin to come in about feven,
and continue coming until nine or ten j the
f:irs as well as the markets of Norfolk being
held late in the day,
. There were feveral hundred head of cattle
at Walfiiam today, and had they been colleft-
cd into one fairfte^, would have made a good 1
lliow.
The principal buyers were the Norwich,
tlie Wells, and the country butchers; alia
fome dealers for the London and St. Ives’s
. m.arkets ; and probably fome imder-finUhed
bullocks were bought, by thofe farmers, who
had grafs and money, of thofe '^ho were in
want of both,
I faw a fteer and a heifer, good meat, and
•weighing about feventy Cone the two, fold for
fixteen pounds eight fhillings, which is more
^hjn four Ciiiliiigs and ei^itpence a Cone.
Alfa
. Digitized by Google
N O R F O'L: Ki
>97
Alfb two large, but not fat, (leers, weighifig
together about one hundred Hone, fold for
t;wcnty pounds ten (hillings, which is only four
(hillings and a penny a (lone.
Alfo fix two-year-olds, good meat, but not
finilhed, and weighing about thirty (lone each,
for fix pounds twelve fiiilllngs a head about
four (hillings and five-pence a (lone.
Cows and calves, in good demand ; fold
from three to fix pound.
‘ Lean two-year-old^ worth from fifty (hil-
lings to four pound. ' ' '
Yearlings (now near eighteen months old)*
from forty to fortyfive (hillings.
It is notorious, that there are very few
bullocks in Norfolk this fpring; owing, it is-
fuppofed, to the unkindlinefs of the weather,
and to the bad quality of turneps, which, it is'
faid, are this year thicker-lkinncd, and of a
weaker quality, than ufual.
There were not twenty “ right fat” bqllocks
jn the fair: the few that have been finilhed
this Ipring have been fent to London ; the
markets there having been very good.
Bullocks fold, la(l Monday in Smithfield, for
upwards of five (hillings a (lone, and they
jwve not fetched Icfs than that price for feve-
ral
105,
FAIR or '
WALSHASf i‘
BUI,LOCK5
AT
TURNEPS.
Digitized by Google
May
iZi
lO^.
SMITHFIELD
MASiUlT. ’
pfmtxcT.
MINUTES.
ral market-days laft paft. But Smithfield
market is a- lottery j and, I apprehend, four’
Ihillings and fixpcnce at Walftiam is a better
price (charges and rifque of road and market
confidered) than the chance of five ftiUlings in
London.
io6.
May I a. On Friday morning let out in
company with Mr. J ohn Baker, of South-Reps,
to fee the country, and the celebrated hulban-
dry, of the Flec Hundreds.
We went by the fea coaft, and returned by
the “ broads” and more inland parts of the
country.
We paired through the following hundreds
jmd parilhes.
Parish.
Digitized by Google
TunAead Happing. W. Flcg. EaAFle-. W. Fleg. Happing. Erp. & TunAead. N. Erplngham.
1782.
N O R F O L It.
PAaisn.
Soil.
HuiaANoar.
•Thorp Market
light
paflable
South-Reps
ditto
good
Cimm Ingham
ditto
paflhbl*
.Tnmch
deeper
good
Knapton
good
ditto
Pafton
ditto
ditto
.Backton
ditto
ditto
Walcot
very good
ditto
Hatbro’
ditto
ditto
Lcflingham
ditto, withmarlhes
ditto
HempRead
ditto
ditto
PaUing
ditto ••
ditto
Waxham
ditto, and very flat
Mr. B
.Horfey
ditto
ditto
Winterton
light, but rich
paflable
Hemlby j
la rich loam, with com-
1 mon fields
J- ditto
Ormelby
ditto ditto
ditto
Kaifter
ditto, with marflies
ditto
Yarmouth Ifurrounded by Jowl , . _
J grounda and water J “i™*” aD common
Maht^ rich loam, with commons nothing extraordinary
Filby
ditto, and broads
paflable *
Burrow
rich loam
ditto .
RoUcfljy
ditto
ditto
Repps
ditto, with common fields ditto
Potter Hayham do. with marlhes & broads ditto
Catfield
, ditto, with low grounds
ditto
Sutton
flill flattifli
ditto
Stalham
good flrong land
good
Brumled
Hill flrong 1
very good
,£a(t Ruflon
yet friable J
cxccUcnl
Redlington
ftrong good loam
ditto
Winon
ditto, Ibine lighter
good
Edenthorp
ditto
ditto
Backton
a charming (oil
ditto
Knapton to
Thorp, fee alx>ve.
/
From
ti4
ib6.
DlSTRIcr.'
Digitized by Google
Mat
196
io6i
District.
n.Eo.
THE FLEO
HUNPREDS.
THE FLEO
HUSBAN*
DRY.
M I U T E S.
From a general view of this detail, the hun-
dred of Happing (and not the hundreds of
Fleg) ft^ds higheft on the fcalc of hufbandry :
and, as I let out without prejudice, I could
have no other bias to iny opinion than that
which I received from the objefts whicTi ftruck
me.
The foil of the pLEb HunOiIeds is rich;
fbme parts of it being naturally fertile, in a
very high degree ; and the reft rendered fo by
clay, marlji hnd Yafmouth niuck*” The
arable parts are hefe” Ipdken of.
But there are in thefe hundreds large trafts
which are covered With Water, or occupied by
reed and other aquatics j and others which arc
frequently overflowed in winter, but afford in
fummer extenfive " marlhes,” or grazing
grounds, for lean Scotch and young catde.
Thofe are another fource of riches to the
arable lands j on which the marlh ftock is
kept, and generally fatted on turneps, during
the winter months j befides great quantities of
manure being alfo raifed from ledge and other
litter cut out of thefe fens arid marlhes;
We called upon Mr. Ferrier, of Hemlb/;
who occupies his own eftate, and is univerlally
acknowledged as one of the beft farmers in
** Fleg.”
Digitized by Goo^Ii
1782. K O R F 6 L
Fleg.” . He very obligingly Ihewed me his
farm, and favored me with a recital of his
praclicci
The Fleg farmers, it is true, get amazing
crops j they reckon from ten to twelve coomb
of wheat, and fifteen to twenty coomb of oats^
an acre, no very extraordinary produce : but
when we learn that crops like thefe are pro-
duced from the fucceflionj or from any ma-
nagement nearly refembling the fucceffion, of
wheat, barley, clover, wheat, oats, wheat;
every perfon converfant in farming miift ex-
claim, that the foil wliich will bear fuch treat-
ment is extraordinary Indeed j more efpecially
when he is told, that the crop of wheat which
follows the oats is generally better than that
which preceded them j the oat-crop being
thrown in as a damper of the raging fertility
of the foil. .
Mr. Ferrier, who is a very lenfible> judiciollSj
plain farmer (though formerly a failor), having
obferved that wheat after clover, or a fummer
fallow, became too rank to (land, and ran too
much to ftraw to yield a large produce of grain,
ingenioufly contrived this intervening crop of
pats, in order to corredt the over-abundant fer-
tility or ranknefs of the foil ; and in this Iiis
fupe-
io6. ,
me HUS-
BANDRY. .
Digitized by Google
io6.
KUMMtR
tAUXiVf.
(LEG SOIL.
NI I K U t £ Sl. MAt
t
fupdnority of management feems principally td
confift. He feems to confider a fummer fal-
low as the moft dangerous procels that can
occur upon a faffh ; for the wheat crop which
fucceeds it he has found invariably Ipoilt
through an over-ranknefs j and what, appears
much more extraordinary, the barlef crop
which follows the wheat is in this cafe generally
too fmaU ; owing, as Mr. F. fuppofes, to the
wheat having too much impoverifhed the foil :
this, however, does not accord with the pradlice
of wheat, oats, wheat. I have no doubt of Mr.
F.’s veracity, or of the faft,' but apprehend it
is produced by fome other caufe than the po-
verty or exhauftion of the foih
Mr. Feffier’s foil is principally a rich daflc-
coloured loam, except one piece or two, which
are of a more fandy nature, /k piece near his
houfe is peculiarly fertile : he never knew it to
fail producing a valuable crop. A recently-
made ditch gave me an opportunity of examirf-
ing it. It is one uniform mafs of rich black
loam, for more than two feet deep ; and under
this lies a brick earth ; a foilj this, capable of
producing madder, woad, hemp, or any other
vegeuble of our climate, which requires a rich
deep foil. The principal part of his eftate,
how-
Digitized by Googl(
tj^2. N O R P O L.R*
however, is of a much lhallower Ibilj not deeper
than the plow goes j and its prefent very
amazing fertility he afcribes, in a great meafure,
to his having cl^ed it. Indeed to this il^ciet
of improvement the fertility of the Fleg Hun-
dred is allowed to be principally owing.
Mr. F. gave me an opportunity of examin-
ing his clay pit ; which is very commodious ;
the uncallow is trifling, and the depth of the
bed or jam he has not been able to afeartain.— •
It is worked, at prefent, about ten or twelve
feet d^ep.
The colour of the foflll, when moift, is dark-*
brown, interiperfed with fpecks of white } and
dries to a colour lighter than that of fuller’s
earth } on being expofed to the air, it breaks
into fmall die-like pieces.
From Mr. F.’s account of the manne^r of its
a£ling, and more particularly from its appear-
ance, I judged it to be a hrown marl, rather
than a clay ■, and, on trying it in acid, it proves
to be ftrongly calcareous j effervefeing, and
hifling, more violently than moft of the whits
marls of this neighbourhood : and what is dill
more interefting, the Hemjby clay is equally
turbulent in acid, as the Norwich marl j which
VoL. U. O is
106.
FLEO
i
Digitized by Google
May*
*9+
io6.
H.EO CLAY.
THE FLEO
■WORKMEN.
-M r.N'U T E S.
brought, by ■water, forty miles into this coun^
try, ^t the excefiive cxpence of four (hillings a
load upon the ftaith } befides the land-carriage.
(But fee Marl, Vol. I.)
It is fomewhat extraordinary that Mr. F. fen-
fible and intelligent as he is, (hould be entirely
unacquainted with this quality of his clay ; a
circumftance, however, the lefs to be wondered
at,, as the Norfolk formers, in general, are
equ'ally uninform-ed of the nature and proper-
ties of marl. ■ ' i
The quantity fet on by Mr. F. was about
forty middling loads an acre, about twenty
years ago it is now beginning to wear out
and he is of ppinipn his land will not bear
claying a fecond time. •
For want of mould he is fometirnes obliged
to ufe fome clay for the bottoms of liis dung-
hills j but he does not much approve of it,
preferring good mould when he can get it. i
The Fleg farmers are noted for their quick
difpaxcli of bufinefs ; and for the great quan-
tity of work ^ey get done by a given number
of fervants and labourers. Mr. F. made the
obfervation, which is corroborated by Mr. E.
(formerly of Fleg) who gives for inflance, tltat
he has had twenty loads of tough fedgy
/ ^ muck
• Digitized by Google
NORFOLK.
1782.
*9S
• muck filled, daily, by a common day la- 1 06.
bourcr ! fleg soiu
. Mr. Ferrier gave a ftriking inftance of the
fertility of the Hemfby foil. , He has known a
fe/m driven by a beggarly tenant, who has
been fuccceded by another, who has ftill con-
tinued to drive it ; yet, after all, it has retained
its prolific qualities j and has ftill continued to
throw out abundant crops ; cfpeciaUy if a full
Crop of clover can be obtained j a thing which clover.
Mr. F. fpeaks of as an improvement almoft
equal to that of a coat of muck.
• Mr. F.’s management of his turneps is very turners
judicious. — He, begins “with thofe which lie
fartheft from home ; throwing them abroad in
the adjoining ftubbles and lays ; but in winter
^hc brings his cattle into the yard } which is a
very convenient one 3 and is, I believe, efteem-
ed the firft in the country.
It confifts of a large fquare : on one fide of
it ftand the bams 3 and, on the oppoTite fide,
a long range of troughs or mangers ; behind
which is a gangway for the feeder 3 and behind
this (out of the yard) the turnep-houfe.
The turneps are tailed, and freed from the
principal part of the dirt, and put into the
troughs entire 3 which Mr. F. efteems, upon
O 2 the
Digitized by Google
106.
TrRNEPS
IN ri-EG.
MINUTES. Ma^
the whdle, a better prafHce than chopping *
them.
The troughs ftand on the highelt fide Of the
yard, upon a rifing ground ; fo that the bul-
locks always ftand clean to feed, while the urihe
fettles dowm among the ftraw in the lower parts
of the yard.
The polls which fupport the manger run
up fence-height, and have a fingle rail palling
from one to another, to prevent the bul-
locks from clambering over the troughs (A
filed under which the bullocks could feed and
lie down warm and comfortable in rainy cold
weather, would be a great improvement to this
yard).
* T umeps being now run up to bloQbm — M r.
F. mows off the tops with a lithe, giving thefo
alone to his fatting bullocks ; while his cows-
and lean ftock have the bottoms given therh
entire. This judicious management has tw^o
good effects : the bullocks inftcad of receiving
a check, as they are apt to do, when turneps
'are in this ftate, are pulhed on, perhaps, fafter
than when thd bottoms are in full perfection i
and the ftock cattle, by not having had a taftc
of the tops, eat up the bottoms the cleaner.
How
Digitized by Googk*
J
NORFOLK.
197
178*.
How much preferable is this management 1 06,
to that of his neighbour 'Squire — , who turneps
having turned twenty fine bullocks into a clofc
of charming turneps, (fuch as would have been
worth in this part of the country three or four
pounds an acre) they have licked off the blof-
foms, and the better parts of the tops, and are
now pining over tire ftalks and bottoms.
This piece of turneps, as well as the remains
of Mr. Ferrier’s, and the other remaining
pieces in the neighbourhood, Ihew what noble
crops of this valuable root are grown in the
Fleg Hundreds.
Thefe and a thoufand other circumftances fug soil.
are undeniable proofs of the richnels of the
Fleg foil : while the univerfal foulnels which
overruns the crops of wheat and clover is a
proof equally evident of the uncleanlinejs of plfg bus-
I'leg farmers : from our leaving Happifbro^, bandry.
l lempftead, &c. until our return to Stalham
and Brunftead, we faw very few pieces, either
of wheat or of clover, which did the owners
any degree of credit,
Fences. In this necefiary piece of hulbandry hedges
the Fleg hufbandmen excel ; while the hedges
of flapping and Tunftcad, cither from the na-
O 3 ture
Digitized by Google
MINUTES.
Mav
198
106.
HEDG£S
JN FLEG.
turc of the air and foil, or from mifmanage-'
ment, or ■perhaps by old age, are greatly below
par ; the fences being mere mud walls, with
here and there an old ftunted thorn. Near the
coaft, the fea air may have fome influence ; but
in Flcg, equally near to the fea, the hedges are
flourilhing ajid beautiful in a high degree. —
The Fleg farmers feem fully mafters of the
fubjecV of live hedges. They plant the layer
at a moderate height, and are aware of the
utility of cutting it down to the ftub at four or
five years old ; facing and backing the ditclij
and fetting on a new hedge. This fecures
tliem a fence in perpetuity; for before the
fecond dead hedge begins to fail, the quick Is
become a perfect fence. Another good prac-
tice is that of trimming off the young ihoots
which fprawl over the ditch ; by which means
their hedges become thick, at the bottom. —
Add to this, they do not fuffer their quick to
fiand too long, before they cut it down to the
ftub; fo that an old overgrown hedge, or
row of tirnber-like “ bulls,” is fcarcely to be
feen. Their method of felling them, too, is
much preferable to the praftice of this part of
the country ; where the ftubs are ufually cut off
fm;ick-fmooth witli the face of the bank, and
maqy
Digitized by Google
1782. . N O R F- O L'K.
0
many of them frequcntly’burled in it, fo as to
be totally deflroyed: whereas, in Fleg, the
Hubs, univerfally, whether young or old, (land
fix or eight inches out of the face of the ditch j
by which means a number of (hoots is pro-
duced. The lately raifed fences have moll of
them furze growing on the backs of the banks.
Feeding wheat. Throughout the journey,
the wheat appeared to be almofi univerfally
paftured, by ftock of every denomination;
fiieep excepted : of which ftock we did not
fee a fcore either in the Happing or the Fleg
Hundreds ! but calves, young ftock, cows, and
even fat bullocks, and horfes, were ftill to be
feen in almoft every clofe of wheat we pafied.
The fpringofthis year, however, is remarka-
bly late ; the turneps are gone, and the grafs
not yet come to a bite ; fo that wheats, this
year, are more univerfally fed, and fed later,
than perhaps was ever known. Mr. Ferrier
fee ms almoft the only exception to the prac-
tice : he never feeds his wheat, from a general
idea that “ the firft fruits are the beft.”
It is obfervable, that let the Norfolk foil b6
ever fo ftrong, it is not ftubborn j and let it be
even foddened by heavy rains, and rendered
‘ O 4 cold
\
. »99
106.
HEDGES
IN FLEG.
feeding
WHEAT.
SHEEP.
THE SOIL OF
NORFOLK.
Digitized by Googl
?oo
jo6,
NORFOLK
SOIL.
fARMER^
MINUTES. May
cold and liycry by lajnng flat, it is no fooncr cx-
pofed to the air than it becomes mellow and
friable. This peculiar quality is faid to be
principally owing to marl (or clay) j by the
fertilizing quality of which, land that is fufli-.
ciently ftrong for wheat, is rendered fufEcient-
|y tender for turneps and barley. Before the
ufc of marl and clay the Fleg farmers could
not grow turneps j whereas now they excel in
that valuable crop, Mr. Ferrier, in one of the
ftifleft of his pieces, put his toe upon a clod to
fhew me this excellent property ; and with a
flight prefiTure of his foot burft it to an almofl:
impalpable powder. This friability of ftrong
iand is, perhaps, one of the beft criterions of a
0ood foil,
Mr. B — — e. • The charafter of this man
is fo very extraordinary, that I cannot refrain
from fketching fomc of its priitcipal features.
He was, I believe, bred in the army j ferved
fome time in the militia j has fought two or
^hree duels ; quarrelled with moft of the gen-
tlemen of the county j and, coming to a good
paternal eftate, difehatged his tenets ^d coiq-
menced farmer.
He is now an occupier of 1700/. a year— yet
he has neither fteward nor even bailiff to affift
him :
Digitized by Goo^lt
1782. NORFOLK.
him ; no wonder, then, he abufes and receives
sbufe from hi§ work-people ; or that he fome-
pmes frightens them away; his harveft, perhaps,
(landing ftill, until his neighbours have finiflied.
He attends fairs and markets — (ells his own
corn and his own bullocks; and even finds time
to attend to the taking in gift (lock upon a
very extenfive marfh — and this without any
alTiftance ; fcve that of his lady, who keeps
his accounts.
My fellow traveller being acquainted witli
him, wc rode through his farm yard, and found
him looking over fomc young cattle which had
been brought up for his infpedlion. His perfon
is grofs, and his appearance bacchanalian— his
drefs that of a (lovcnly gentleman. — There is a
politenefs in his manner ; and his converfation
btfpeaks a fcnfible intelligent mind j borne
away, however, by a wildnels and ferocity
which is obvious in his countenance, and dif.
covers itfeif in every word and aftion. Never-*
thclefs, it is faid, that, in a polite circle, Mr. R.
(an excel in politenefs.
The parifh of Waxham is principally in hif
own hands ; and the adjoining little parilh of
Horfey is entirely in his occupation.
The country round him is exceedingly flat
and low, being nearly on a level with the lea at
20 1
jo6.
FARMERS,
Digitized by Google
Mat
ao2
MINUTES.
io6.
fARMERS.
MARRAM
BANKS.
high-water, and defended from it only by the
Marram Banks, wl\ich are broken into gaps at
every two or three hundred yards j fo that in
ftormy weather the lea nilhes through, and fre-
quently does confiderable damage by overflow-
ing the country. Mr. B. told us, that he had
four acres of very fine cole-feed fwept down
during the late tempefhious weather.
His land, however, which lies out of the
water’s way, is rich and fertile in a high degree }
and Mr. B. it is faid, . gets exceedingly fine
crops from it j fo that it is probable, notwith-
ftanding the irregularity with which his afl^irs
are condudlcd, and th:c want of attention to
minuti.!; which muft neceflfarily occur in fuch
a boundlefs feene of bufinefs, Mr. B. does not
injure his fortune by farming } for it feems
generally allowed that no farmer gets his work
done /j cheap as Mr. B.
• ' Marram Banks. The country towards the
coift from Happiforo’ to Winterton, about ten
miles, is a dead flat j and, to the eye, appears
to lie lower than the fea at high' water. By
the fide of the beach runs a range of broken,
irregular hillocks, from five to fifteen or twenty
feet high, and from fifty to upwards of a hun-
d.^d yards in width at the bafe j compofed-
entirely
Digitized by Google
178a. NORFOLK. 103
entirely of fea fand j which, in fome places, is 1 06.
pretty well overgrown, and bound together by
a rufh-likc plant, called, in that neighbourhood,
“ marram” (the arundo arenaria of Lin-
N/Eus) which the poor people cut and fell for
thatch.
Thefc hillocks, however, do not ferve the
purpofe of a fecure embankment againft the
fea ; they being, in many places, divided down
to their bafes, by fluices of different widths ;
namely, from five to fifteen or perhaps twenty
yards wide. Through thefe inlets, in boiilerous
weather, and with an eafterly wind, the fea
rulhes, and overflows the country.
The hills have a pifburefque, though dreary-
appearance, and afford a romantic ride the
traveller may in general pafs either on the
beach or the land fide : winding through the
openings at pleafure.
The manner in which thefe banks have
been originally formed appears at firft fight
myfterious ; how the fand fhould be blown up
into heaps, and not fcattered flat over the face
of the adjoining country, feems inexplicable.
The marram, it is true, may have affiftcd ;
but this alone, feems unequal to the tafk.
Until we had paffedMr. B — e’s marfhes, the
beach lay open to the country ; fo that the
ftock
1
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904
io6.
MARRAM
94NK.S.
MINUTES. May
(lock have free egrefs to tite fca j on the edge
of which they delight to lie in die heat of the
liimmcr ; when they lie cool and free from
the flies, with which the marfhes arc greatly
peftered. But, having paflfed Mr. B- — -’s
grounds, the proprietors of the next marlhes
are under the neccfllty of fencing againft the
berxh ; left their cattle fhould ftray into Mr.
B — ’s liberty, who is lord of the manor.
I'l.is is done by placing rov.-s of faggots in
the gaps, between the fand- hills ; which, being
(Icep on the fide towards dre lea, are of them-
lelvcs a fence.
The eftcdl of thefe faggot-fences is ftriking ;
-for the fand being blown upon the beach in
a fiinilar manner to Ihow, it drifts in the fame
-way} and, in fome places, the tops of the
faggots are only to be feen } the fand having
drifted on both fides j more particularly on the
fide towards the country ; fo tlrat the catde
might now almcft walk over them ; and it
l^rikes me very forcibly, that from fences, to
keep the marlh cattle from ftraying away
upon the beach, have originated dw; Marram
Banks. .
Ei}t whether this is the fi(5l or not, I ant
fully convinced that by faggots, or fome other
r more
t
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N O R P d L’ 1C
1783.
io5
more fubftantial fencing, Marram Banks miglif j . j © 5 ^
at a trifling expcncc, be converted into a barriel- marram
not to be broken by the fca : for, notwith* ®anks»
Handing the long and violent eafterly winds
which have lately blown, fuch as to violence
and continuance has fcarccly been known be-
fore, there is only one place in which the fei
has been able to move even thefe bramble-
faggots j and this has happened in a gap which
is wider than ordinary: the faggots, here,being
forced out and fcattered over the marflies.
From the curfory view I have had, the
moft eligible way of joining the hillocks, fb
as to form a regular embankment, feems to be
this : — Make a double fence in each gap ;
placing the two fences at, perhaps, twenty or
thirty yards diftance from each other; or,
more generally fpeaking, at five to ten yards
within the fkirts of the prefent bank. As
foon as the hollow fpacc, between the firft pair
of fences, be filled up with fand, raife another
pair, a few yards within the firfl ; and, above
thefe, anptlier and another, until the gap be
filled up, or be raifed to a fulTicient height ;
and then, on the top, propagate the marram
plant.
* Two rows of faggots might be fufficient for •
the narrow gaps •; and for the larger ones fhip-
wreck,
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M I N U T E 3.-
May
206
106. .
MARRAM
fANKS.
OF ISTATtS.
\
wfeck, or .other old (hip-timber, might b«
ufed; more cfpecially for the -foundation
courfei . ; •
If the fea (hould hereafter gain upon the
banks, fo as, in proce(^ of time, to endanger
the whole, raife a fence on the land-fide at
fome diftance from the old banks, to catch the
fand blown over them j and thus from the
wreck of one embankment another might be
raifed, and the country kept in perpetual
fafety. ;
; Mr. B e has attempted to mdke the em-
bankment a public matter j but has not fuc-
ceeded. It ftrikes me, however, that it would
be well worth his while to defend his own
coaft at his own expence : but he fays, “ It
« is not for me to attack the German Ocean
fingle-handed.”
Mr. Anfon has hit off a very great improve-
ment upon his eftate near Yarmouth.
On the Suffolk fide of the river, oppofite tlic
Key of Yarmouth, were fome low grounds,
let, I believe, as marfhland. Thele grounds
have lately been divided into lots, and let on
building leales of ninety-nine years, at the
greatly improved rent of (even pounds aia
acre ; befides the advantage which will accrue
at the expiration of the term. 1
SQch
/ V
Digitized by Googit
. 178 *. NORFOLK.
Such a ftroke as this is a r^<z/ improvement
of an eftate ; and there are few cxtcnfive
eftates which will not, if properly attended to,
admit of being advanced, without fending the
farmer to jail, or the cottager to the poor-
houfe.
\
1 07*
May 12. WoRSTEAD Fair, — This fair
is held on Old Mayday, and is called
" May Fair.” It has for many years been
noted for fat bullocks. This year, however,
there were not more than a hundred bullocks
in the fair, and not twenty of thofe which
.were fat. There were about three hundred
head of cattle ; chiefly two-year-olds, and
cows and calves, with fome few buds.
The Norwich butchers were the principal
chapmen for bullocks.
108.
May 17. Laft year,— to render my refi-
dence more commodious, as well as to gain
fome information on the fubjeft of cheefc-
making — an art I was then a ftranger to— I
rented a fmall dairy of cows. I took them
the rather as I had then in my fcrvicc an ex-
cellent
ao7
106.
GEN. MAN.
OF ESTATES.
MARKETS.
COWS.
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iloS
108.
tH£ES£. ^
M 1 N U T £ si May
ccllcnt Wiltfhire dairywoman ; who, I was in
hopes, might be able to make fbme improve-
ment on the Norfolk method of making
cheefc ; which, I had been given to underftand,
was execrable.
Having long confidercd this intereftirtg fub-
jecl as being allied to experimental philofophy,
I placed it in that light, and paid as much
attention to the different proceffes as an aftive
feene of employment would permit me.— -
What I have been able to do is only an effay ;
but it is fufHclent to convince me, that with Ici-
fure and application, much might be done to-
wards bringing this, at prefent myftefious, but
important fubjeft, to fome certain and fixed
principles.
In regiftering the information I have been
able to obtain, it will be proper to 'digeft it
under the following heads : • •
1. The preparation of the rennet.
2. The coagulation of tlie milk.
. 3. The management of the curd.
4. The management of the cheefe.
I. Rennet. The curd which happens to bt
'contained in the ftomach of the calf when
butchered, together with the hairs and dirt;
which are infeparable from it, arc ufed by the
dairy-
Digitized by Google
daii^-women of this country to coagulate their
milk : hence, probably, the rancid flavor of
the Norfolk chcefc j perfefUy refembling in
fccnt the parent curd ; and this, as nearly as
iflay be, its more matured Jelf.
, The rennet which I made life bf was pre-
pared in the following manner.
Take a calf's bag, maw, orftomadh; and*
having taken out the curd contained therein,
wafti it clean, and fait it thoroughly, infide and
out, leaving a white coat of fait over every
part of it. Put it into an earthen jar, or other
vcffel, and let it ftand three or four days j In
which time it will have formed the fait and its
own natural juices into a pickle. T ake it out
of the jar, and hang it up for two or three days,
to let the pickle drain from it; refalt it; place
it again in a jar ; cover it tight down with a
paper pierced with a large pin ; and in this flate
let it remain until it be wanted for ufe. In this
ftate it ought to be kept twelve months : it
may however, in cafe of necelfity, be ufed a
few days after it has received the fecond fak-
ing ; but it will not be fo flrong as if kept a
longer time.
To prepare the rennet for ufe ; take a hand-
ful of the leaves of fwect*briar,-i-thc fame
VoL, II. P quantity
210
MINUTES.
Mat
•• ip8.
CHEESE.
quantity of the leaves of the dog role, and the
like quantity of bramble leaVes j boil them in
a gallon of water, with three or four handfulls
of fait, about a quarter of an hour j ftrain ofF
the liquor, and, having let it Hand until pel--
fedly cool, put it into an earthen velTel, and
add to it the maw, prepared as above. To this
is added a found good lemon, (luck round with
about a quarter of an ounce of cloves j which
give the rennet an agreeable flavor.
The longer the bag remains in the liquor,
the llronger of courfe will be the rennet : the
quantity, therefore, requifite to turn a given
quantity of milk, can only be afeertained by
daily ufe and obfervation.
When the rennet is fufliciently ftrong take
out the bag j hang it up two or three days for
the rennet to drain from it j — refait it j — put it
down again into the jar ; and thus continue to
treat it, until its virtues are exhaufled; which
will not be until it has been ufed feveral times.
By fufiering one or more bags to remain in
the liquor, the rennet thus prepared may be
raifed to a very high degree of ftrength, as
will appear in the following obfervations.
The leaves and the fpice, it 'is probable,
have no other eircdt than that of doing away
the
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NORFOLK.
1782.
2lt
the ill flavor of the maw; which, if ever fo 108.
well cleaned, retains a faint difagreeable fmell ; cheese.
whereas the rennet prepared as above, is per-
fedly well flavored.
It is, however, I find, an idea among the
Wiltfhire dairywomen, that the leaves correft
any ranknefs or evil quality in the milk, arifmg
from a ranknels of pallure : they being further
of opinion, that difterent paftures require dif-
ferent forts of herbs to corred them ; and
fome of them, it feems, are, or pretend to be,
fo deeply verfed in this art, that they will un-
dertake to correcl any milk, fo as to prevent'
the rifing “ heaving” “ or blowing” of the
cheefes made from it and, confequendy, the
rancidnefs which ufually accompanies a porous
cheefe. .
This is, no doiibt, a grand objed of checle-
makers ; but it is not, I apprehend,- to be ob-
tained by fo fmall a proportion of vegetable
juices as pals with tire rennet into fo large a
proportion of milk. Neverthelels, it appears
to me highly probable, that this grand defide-
ratum lies within the reach of the chemical art;
and that, by a courfe of judicious experiments,
fome vegetable or mineral preparation, ade-
quate to this valuable purpofe, may be dif-
covered,
Pa 2 . Coagulation.
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MINUTES.
May
su
io8.
tHEESE.
a. Coagulation. Next to the art of correft-
ing the milk (an art as yet in its infancy) this
fcems to cldm the attention of the experimen-
talift.
It is known, from daily experience, that
the warmer the milk is, when the rennet is
put to it, the fooner it will coagulate, with
a given quantity of rennet of a given
ftrength.
It is eqtially well known that the cooler the
milk, and the longer it is in coagulating, the
more tender and delicate the curd becorhes :
‘on the contrary, if the milk be too hot, and
the coagulation take place too rapidly, the
curd proves tough and harlh.
But it leems to be a fa£t, equally well efta-
blilhed, that a cheefe made from milk, which
has been cooly and flowly coa^lated, is longer
before it become marketable, than one made
from milk which has undergone a lefs delibe-
rate coagulation ; and which, being drier,
and of a harlher texture, fooner becomes
cheefey,” and fit for the tajler.
Therefore, the great art in this ftage of the
procefs lies in— , . r -
The degree of warmth of the inilk when
Jet ; that is, when the rennet is pyt to it i or,
in— 'V--
The
Digitized by Google
1782. NORFOLK.
The degree of heat retained by the ciird
when it comes j that is, when the coagulation
has fufficiently taken place j or, in—
The length of time between the Jetting' and
the coming. Which length of time may be re-
gulated either —
By the degree of the warmth of the milk
when let j or—
By the Hate of warmth in which it is kept
during the time of coagulation j or—
By the quantity and ftrength (taken joindy)
of the rennet.—
To endeavour to gain fome informadon on
this fubje£b, I made the following oblervations*
1781. June 5 . T wentythree gallons of milk,
heated to ftinetyfix degrees of Fahrenheit’s
fcale, with two tea-cup-fulls of weakilh rennet,
came in one hours the ciu-d delicate and good,
June 6. The fame quanrity of milk, of the
fame heat, with the fame quantity of rennet,
came in nearly the fame time the curd Ibmc-
what tough i owing, probably, to the milk
having been “ burnt to the ketde” in whid\
it was heated.
June 7. Twentyfeven gallons of milk,
heated to ninetyfour degrees, with the fame
quantity of rennet, came in about two hours j
the curd very good.
P 3 Jwst
108.
CHUSE.
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MINUTES.
Mat
ai4
io8,
CHEESE.
June 8. Twentyfix gallons of milk, heated
to one hundred and two degrees, with one tea-
cup-full of rennet, came in two hours and a,
half j curd very good.
June 9. T wentyfive gallons of milk, heated
to one hundred degrees, with a tea-cup-fuU
and a half of rennet, came in about one hour
and a half; the curd good,- but fomewhat
(ough ; owing perhaps to the milk being kept
too warm in the cheefe tub, by being covered
Up clofe with a thick clotli.
Note^ On the feventh and eighth, the whey
retained a heat of about eightyeight degrees,
whereas the whey this morning was ninetytwo
degrees ; fo that, perhaps, it is not the heat
when it is 7^/, but the heat when it eomeSi which
gives the quality of the curd.
June 10. Twentyfive gallons : ninetyfix
degrees : two cups : uncovered : came in two
hours and a quarter : whey eightyfeven de-
grees : curd very tender.
June 1 1 . Twentythree gallons : one hun-
dred degrees: more than a tea-cup: uncovered:
did not come in tv/o hours ; owing to the ren-
net being lower in ftrength than before :
therefore, added a little more rennet; which
brought it in about three hours, from firft fet-
ting':
Digitized by Google
rySa. NORFOLK.
ting ; the whey eightyfeven degree : the curd
uncommonly delicate.
- June 12. Twentyfour gallons of milk ;
one hundred degrees : two cups of rennet ;
uncovered : came in two hours ; whey eighty-
nine degrees ; curd uncommonly tender,
' June 13. Twentyeight gallons of milk;
nbetytwo degrees : thijee cups (fay ftrongly
renneted) : covered up with a coarfe linen
cloth : came in one hour and a half: whey
eightyfix degrees : curd very good, and of a
.very fine colour ; though perhaps would have
handled tenderer, if it had not flood fome time
lifter it came before it was broke up.
Perhaps much depends on its being broke
up in the critical minute.
June 14. Twentyeight gallons : one hun-
dred degrees : two cup-fulls : uncovered : came
in one hour and a quarter : whey ninetyfour
degrees : curd fomewhat harfh, but of a good
colour. ■ *
The change of colour is therefore owing to
the change of pafture.
Note, The milk fhould be covered to make
it come together ; — this came and grew hard at
the bottom, half an hour before it was fet at
^hc top.
P 4 Junt
2*S
108. ■
CHEESE.
Digitized by Google
^i6
io8.
CHE£S£.
I
MINUTES. May
^une 15, Twcntyeight gallons; milk heated
to ninetyfive degrees : with two cups of ren-
net : and covered after it had -ftood three quar-
ters of an hour : came in one hour and a half :
whey eightynine degrees (themorningwarm):
curd very good and tender. : •
June 1 6. Thirty gallons of milk : heated
to one hundred and three degrees; but lowered
by two pail-fulls of cold water to ninetyfix
degrees j with two cups and a half of rennet s
and kept clofe covered : came in one hour i
whey ninetyfour degrees ; curd pretty good j
but not fufficiently tender.
June 17. Twentyeight gallons; ninetyftven
degrees: two and one-half cups: covered; but
not clofe : came in one hour and a half; whey
not tried : curd fomewhat tough. -
Notej The toughnefs is owing, perhaps, to
fonje milk of a new ealven cow being among
it.
• Note aljoy To try the exaft heat of milk im-
mediately from the cow, immerged a dilh in
the pail while milking. After it had lain long
enough to receive a degree ofheat equal.to that
of the milk in the pail, emptied it, and imme-
diately milked into it from the teat (the cow
being
Digitized by Googlt
NORFOLK.
aif
i;Sa.
being at this time about half milked) j the heat
ninetyfive degrees.
NotealfojTht cheefes of yefterday (the i6th
of June) prefs reiparkably elaftic, and fpungy
(like a fungus) ; ferbaps owing to the milk’s
coming too hot j or perhaps to two or three of
the cows being then a-bulling * j or perhaps^
being made thicker than ufual, the prefs was
not heavy enough for them j or perhaps this ill
quality is owing to the cold water being put
into the milk.
June 1 8 . Thirty gallons: ninetyfive de-
grees : covered : came in one hour and a half;
whey ninetytwo degrees : curd pretty good.
June i^. . Thirty gallons: ninetytwo de-
uces ; two cups covered : curd very good.
* June 11 , Thirty gallons : ninetyeight de-
grees J lowered by half a pail of cold water to
ninetyfive degrees : the curd good j but the
cheefes, like thoTe of the i6thprefi, hollow
and fpungy.
* 1 afterwards found that the milk of a cow, on the day
of amour, retained, after having ftood fome time in the
pail after milking, ninetyeight degrees of heat. This
Ihews that the Hate if not the quality of the milk is altered
•by the heat of the cow ; and a cautious dairywoman
ways endeavours to keep fuch milk out of her cheefe tub.-
Ttere^
io8.
CHIESE.
Digitized by Google
Ii3
io8.
<:heese.
M I N U T E S. May
ThereforZy it \% probable, from thefe two inci-
dents, that lowering the heat of the milk, with
cold water, has an evil effect.
June 23. (Evening) Fifteen gallorts of new
milk warm from the cow, retaining a heat of
ninetytwo degrees, with two cups and a half of
new weak rennet, and clofely covered, came
in three quarters of an hour : whey eightyeight
degrees : curd very delicate and good. •
June 2^. Forty gallons of half-Jkim rm\k,
heated to eightyfeven degrees, with three cups
of rennet, flightly covered, came in three quar-
ters of an hour : whey feventynine degrees ;
t:urd remarkably good of this fort.
Sept. 8. In oblcrving the effedl of fome re-,
tnarkably ftrong rennet, I found that an ordi-
nary tea-cup-full coagulated fufficiently up-
wards of forty gallons of milk, heated to only
eightyeight degrees, in thirty five minutes.
From thefe ohfervations it Appears, that curd
of a good quality may be obtained from milk
heated from 87 to 103 degrees of Fahrenheit’s
thermometer ■, provided the rennet be fo pro-
portioned, that the time of coagulation be
from three quarters of an hour to two hours
and a half; and provided the milk be kept
properly covered during the procefs of coag^^-
heion.,'
And
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*•
NORFOLK.
219
1782.
And from thefe as v/ell as from a variety of
other obfervations, which I made in the courfe
of the fummer, but which are not minuted, it
appears to me, at prefent, that from 85 to 90
are the proper degrees of heat ; that from one
to two hours is the proper time of coagulation;
and that the milk ought to be covered fo as to
lofe in the procefs about 5 degrees of its origi-
nal heat.
But climature, feafons, the weather, and the
pafture, may require that thefe bounds Ihould
fometimes be broken. A few oblervations,
made in one feafon, and in one place, how ac-
curately foever they may have been taken, are
by no means adequate to the entire illuftration
of this very abllrufe fubjedt.
3. The curd . — In Norfolk, this ftage of the
procefs is very (hort. Part of the whey being
laded off, the remainder, with the curd, is
poured into a cloth : — the whey drains through ;
the curd is fliook in the cloth ; kneaded down
into a vat ; put under a light prefs, or perhaps
under a ftone ; the cloth once changed ; the
curd once turned ; and lo ! a Norfolk cheele
appears. The cows are milked and the dheefc
complcated in ten or twelve hours.
The
108,
CHEESE.
Digitized by Google
*20 •
MINUTES.
MaV
108.
CHiESE.
The pradice, in my dairy, has been uni-
formly this. — ^As foon as the curd is come at the
top, firm enough to difcharge its whey, the
dairywoman tucks up her fleeves, plunges her
hands to the bottom of the veflel, and, with a
wooden difli, ftirs the curd and whey brificly
about : fhe‘ then lets go the dilh, and, by a
circular motion of her hands and arms, vio-
lently agitates the whole ; carefully breaking
every part of the curd j and, at intervals, ftirs
it hard to the bottom with the difti j fo that
not a piece of curd remains unbroken, laiger
than a hazel-nut. This is done to prevent
what is called “ flip-curd” (that is, lumps of
curd which have flipped unbroken through
the dairywoman’s hands), which, by retaining
its whey, does not prefs uniformly with the
otiter curd, but in a few days (if it happen to
be fituated toward the rind) turns livid and
jelly-like, and foon becomes faulty and rotten.
This operation takes about five or ten minutes j
or, if the quantity of curd be large, a quarter
of an hour.
In a few minutes the curd fubfides, leavino-
the whey clear upon the top. The dairy-
woman now takes her difh, and lades off the
whey into a pail i which Ihe empties into a
milk-
Digitized by Google
lySa. NORFOLK.
milk-lead to ftand for cream, to be churned for
•whey butter*.
Having laded off all the whey fhe can, with-
out gathering up the fmall pieces of loofc
curd Soaring near the bottom of the veSel,
ftie fpreads a ftraining cloth oyer her cheefe-
tongs, and ftrains the whey through it ; return-
ing the curd, retained in the cloth, into the
cheefe tub. When Sie has got all the whey
Ihe can, by preffing the curd with her hand
and the lading diSi, Ihe takes a knife and cuts
it into fquare pieces, about two or three inches
fquare. This lets out more of the whey, and
makes the curd handy to be taken up, in order
to be broken into the vats f .
• This is a pradlice peculiar to the cheefe counties,
and forms no inconfiderable part of the profit of a dairy in
ihofe counties. In Norfolk, the whey, even from new
milk, pa£es from the cheefe vefTels immediately to the
hog tub.
f A dairy Ihoold be plentifully flirnifhed with vats,
and fome of them of different fizes ; for when three or
four cheefes are made at each meal, a numiser of vats be-
come adually in ufe : and if there are not flill a number
empty, the dairywoman becomes confined in her choice,
and cannot proportion exa£Uy her vats to the quantity of
curd fhe haffent to find in her cheefe tub ; and keeping a
little overplus curd from meal to meal frequently fpoils &
tyhole cheefe.
Haring
SSI
io8,
CHEJESK.
Digitized by Coogle
3ia
io8.
CHEESE.
Minutes. Ma^
• . Having made choice of a vat or vats pro-
portioned to the quantity df curd, fo that the
cheefe, when fully prefled, {hall neither over
nor under fill the vat, fiie fpreads a cheefc-
cloth loofely over the vat ; into which (he re-
breaks the curd ; carefully fqueezing every
part of it in her hands; and, having filled the
vat heaped up and rounded above its top, folds
over the cloth, and places it in the prefs *.
In autumn, when the weather got cool and
moifi, the curd was Jcalded, “to make the
“ cheefe come quicker to hand,’' (that is,
fooner faleable) and to prevent a white woolley
coat from rifing. It is done thus : If from
• Much dfpends on the conftrufticn and power of the
PRESS. The excellency of conArudion depends upon its
pre ding level : if it has too much play, fo as to incline and
become tottering or leaning one way or another, and do
not fall perpendicular upon the cheefe board, one fide of a
cheefe will frequently be thicker than another ; and, what
is Alll worfe, one fide will be thoroughly preffed while the
other is left foft and fpongy. Its power may be given by
a ferew, by a lever, or by a dead weight, and ought to be
proportioned to the thicknefs of the cheefe.
I had one conAruded on the above principles ; the
power, a dead weight of Aones, contained in a cubical
box, moving in grooves fo as to keep its bottom horizon-
tal ; the medium weight, i cwt. 2 qrs. bat regulated, by
the Aones, agreeably to the thicknefs of the cheefe or
cheefes to be prefled. •
new
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NORFOLK.
223
1781.
new milkj Tcalding water (boiling water with a
fmall quantity of cold whey mixed with it) is
poured over the whole furface of the curd as it
lies at the bottom of the cheefe tub : If from
fkimmed or other inferior milk, the outHdcs
only are fcalded, after the curd is in the vat,
by firft pouring the fcalding water on one fide,
and then, turning the cheefling, pouring it on
the other. For if in this cafe the curd were to
be fcalded, it would render it hard, and fpoil
the tafte and texture of the cheefe. In fcald-
ing the cheejling, the curd is firft put into the
bare naked vat, and the upper part fcalded :
the cheefe cloth is then Ipread over it, and the
vat being turned, the curd falls into the cloth :
the curd, with the cloth under it, is then put
into the vat j the outer edges pared off; the
parings broke, and rounded up in the rniddle ;
and the fcalding water poured upon it as be-
fore ; the folds of the cloth laid over, and the
vat fet in the prefs.
The whey, being pretty well preffed out,
and the cheefling (whether it has been fcalded
or not) having got firm enough to handle,
which it will be in about half an hour, the
dairywoman takes it out of the vat ; wafties
the cloth in a pail of clean cold water ; Iprcads
it
108.
CHIES£.
’ I
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IH
io8.
CHIESE.
MINUTES. May
it over the vat i turns, the cheefling upon it j
Tqueczes it gently into the vat } folds over the
cloth; tucks in the comer with a wooden
cheefe-knife ; and replaces the vat in the
prefs.
Suppofing the cheefling to be made in the
morning, it now remans in the prefs, untouch-
ed, until the evening ; when it is taken out,
Jalted, put into a frefli dry cloth, and left in the
prefs all night.
The method of falting b this The fait
being well bruifed, and the lumps thoroughly
broken, it is fpread plentifully on each fide of
the cheefling, fo as wholly to cover it, about
one-tenth of an inch in thicknefs, more or Icfs,
in proportion to the thicknefs of the cheefc,
• If this be of a confiderable thicknefs, as fup-
pofe three inches and upwards, fomc fait is
put into the middle of it, by flopping when the
vat is half filled with curd, ftrewing. on the
fait, and, on this, putting the remainder of the
curd.
Next morning, if the curd be rich, or has
been cold-run, the cheefling is turned into
another dry clotli, and left in the prefs till
evening : but if, on the contrary, the curd be
from poor milk, or from milk which, before
fetting
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» 78 i. NORFOLK.
fettingi had acquired any degree of fourhefsi
or if it has been run hot and quick, the cheef-
ling fhould, in the morning, be "bare-vatted;”
that is, be put into' the vat without a cloth
round it, and be put again into the prefs until
evening.
The ufc of bare-vatting is to tak^ out the
marks of the cloth, and thereby evade a wafte
of labour in bringing the cheefe to a fraooth
glofly coat. The rcafon for the above diftinc-
tion is, therefore, obvious ; for the harder the
curd, the longer the marks of the cloth are in
preffing outj
In the evening,- that i^hich waS turned intd
the dry cloth in the morning, is now bare-
vatted ; and that which was bare-vatted in the
morning, is now turned in the vat j and, having
ftood in the prefs until morning, the pfocefs is
finilhed. The chee/es arc taken out of the
rats, and placed upon the fhelf.
. Thus, fuppofing the cheefling to be made
On Monday morning, feven o’clock, it is, be-
tween eight and nine,- taken out of the vat j
the cloth walhcd ; and immediately placed in
the prefs again. On Monday evening, it is
faked and, if wanted, pared*; put into a dry
* A ch«efling fhould never, in ilri^ propriety, be
pared after it has been bare-vatted.
Vot. II. cloth;
ib8<
CHXESE.
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NORFOLK.
227
1782.
and the palate. Her method is this: — the
cheefe (or rather as yet a bundle of curd) being
taken out of the prefs, is faked upon a large
earthen platter, in the fame rrtanner a piece of
beef or pork is faked ; and, having lain fomc
time in fait, it is put upon a Ihelf to dry and
ftifFen.
Being in a manner unprefled ; never cleaned;
and but feldom turned ; it is no wonder, that
in a flioft time the white feurfy 'coat gets full
portl'fiion of itj or that its furfae'e fhould ap-
pear bloated and wrinkled ; or that its rind
ihould be divided by innumerable fifllires; or'
that its appearance, all together, fhould be
that of a plumb eakej rather than of a
cheefe. • '
However with refped to appearances, the
Norfolk dairywoman may plead; in excufe;
that her cuftomers arc familiarized to the
which flie prepares for ' them : but when Ihe*
follows a pradice which fubjeds her produce,
if not fold off while yet in an unripe ftate, to
almoft inevitable deftrudion, fhfc is highly cul-
pable. ^
Cheefes made in this country are attacked’
by an enemylittle dreaded,or wholly unknown,
in the cheefe counties ; namely, a Upccies of
: - • a maggot
108.
CHEESE.
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io8,
CHEESE.
MINUTES. Mav
maggot, whofc unlimited mifchlcvournefs
feems to be confined to this part of the king-
domi •
The fly, which is the caufe of this ferious
mifchief, is of a fpecies fomewhat fmall, flen-
dcr, black, and Ihining; very much refembling
the fmall winged ant. Wherever it finds a
crack or other defc6t in the rind, be it ever fo
minute, it turns its tail towards the aperture ;
and, by the infertion of a flender flfeath not
unlike the fling of a bee, there depofits its
e^s. If the fiflure be fufficienrly large and
deep, it effters its hind parts alfo ; if flill
deeper, it crawls backward into the cheefe ;
leaving only its head in fight, and tlius injects
its eggs to a confiderable depth.
As the maggots rife into life, they travel flill
farther into the fubftance of the cheefe and,'
if it happens to be porous, foon pervade every
part of it ; in a few weeks working its total de--
ftruftion : for not only the parts they immedi-'
ately inhabit, but the whole cheefe becomes,
bitter and entirely inedible ; except by Ibmc
of the good people of the country, to whom -
cuftomhas rendered even the maggots grateful.
Laft year (1781) being remarkable for flies
of every fpecies, there were, in this neighbour- -
.... hood.
Digitized
by Google j
1782. NORFOLK’.
hood, many dairywomen who had not, even
in September, one thoroughly found new-milk
cheefc in their dairies.
A remedy for this evil would be a valuable
difeovery to the Eaft Norfolk farmer : for al-
though Eaft Norfolk is not properly fpeaking
a dairy country, there are a great number of
cows kept in it ; not only for its home con~
fumption of butter and cheefe, but for the
purpofe of rearing bullocks for the London
market. ,
The only remedy praftifed here, in com-
mon, is to place in the cheefe -chamber large
boughs, on which the flies fettle. The boughs
being loaded with flies, are taken into another
room, and beaten upon the floor j by which
means numbers may be deftroyed ; numbers,
however, are ftilf left behind ; and while there
is one fly in the room, a defedtive cheefe is not
fafe.
This mifehievous animal, whether in its fly-
er maggot ftate, is very difficult to be de-
ftroyed, without actually cruffiing it. Bjy way
of experiment., fhut up the checfe-chamber as
clofe as poffible j and burnt in it not Ids than
four or five ounces of liilphur ; caufing a fume
powerful enough to have ftifled an elephant j
0^3 but
229
108.
CHEESE.
Digitized by Google
230
MINUTES.
May
|o8.
CHEISE.
but not a fly fbfFered by it . — Agauiy put a
dice of chcefe afRdcd by the maggot into
fome boiling water, immediately from the
tea-kettle : let it lie a few minutes in the
water : took it out and broke it : the maggots
were, to every appearance, as much alive as if
they had not been in the water ! — It is in
vain, therefore, to think of deftroying the
animal; for although the fly may be ealily
killed by hand or otherwife, and, with a little
pains, the dairy and cheefe-chamber might
for a moment be cleared ; yet, from the
numbers which are bred in the neighbour-
hood, the very air is filled with them ; and
the room, of courfe, prefently replenifhed ;
therefore, the only way left of avoiding
the lofs is to endeavour to find out fome
means of defending the cheefes themfelves
againfl the attacks of thefe deftruftive enemies,
Thefe means, I flatter rnyfelf, are fully
pointed out in the praftice I am now regifter-
ing.
The firft week or ten days, die new-made
cheefes are carefully turned once a day ; great
care being had not to break the yet tender rind
in turning ; nor to fufier it to be cracked by
too frcf an admiffion of a dry parching air.
As
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NORFOLK.
1782.
As foon as they are become firm enough to 108.-
be handled with fafety, they are cleaned in cheese, . ,
this manner : ibme fkimmed whey being put
into a milklead, or other broad, (hallow
vcflel, fo as to cover the bottom of it half an
inch or^n inch deep, the cheefes to be cleaned
are taken from the Ihelf and placed in the
whey. One fide being thoroughly moiftened,
the other fide is placed downward ; the edges
too arc wetted with a cloth, fo as to make the
whole coat of the cheefe foaking wet. The dai-
rywoman then takes a hard brufii, and bnifhtfs
every part of the cheefe j frequendy dipping
her brufli in the whey, to eradicate the white
coat more readily and more effeftually. This
done, fhe places them again on the ftielves; but
before they be quite dry, while their coats are
yet moift, fhe rubs them over with a cloth, on
which a piece of whey, or other common, but-
ter has been fpread. This keeps the rind fiip^
pie, and free from cracks ; checks the feurfy
coat from rifing ; and, by ftopping the pore?
and fifiures of the coat, prevents the fly from
depofiting her eggs. If the rind be rough,
from the marks of the cloth or other caufe, fhe
ferapes them with a knife, or other inftrument :
0^4 , ' • • this
V
Digitized by Coogle
May
231
108,
CHE£S£.
MINUTES.
this 4ft operation, however, is as yet performed
with great care and delicacy.
Having thus waflied and feraped them two
or three times (in the courfe of about a week
from the lirft cleanfing) Ihe removes them from
the dairy Ihelves into fome fpacious airy room,
with a firm even floor, which fhe firft rubs plen-
tifully with green fucculent netdes, fo as to
give it a temporary greennefs, and then places
her checles in rows upon the prepared floor.
She now wafties them no more j but, if the
coat be yet rougli, and the feurf continue to
rife, fhe ferapes them more freely than before ;
and, as the rind gets harfh, Ibftens it with
buttcr.j thus continuing to treat them, and ftill
continuing to turn them once a day, until they
acquire a rich golden polilh, ^d tl^e blue coat
begin to fhew itfclf,
Thiscrifis, namely, the appearance of the
blue coat, is not altogether regulated by the
age of the cheefe, but depends on its quality
and the ftate of the weather. Perhaps it may
appear before the cheefe be one, perhaps not
until it be more than two, or even three, months
old ; therefore, no certain number of cleanings
can be fixed ; thefc rules, however, may bie
obfcrvable; ferape and r^b them, until they be
per.
178a; NORFOLK.
perfe£Hy finooth ; mellow the rind with butter,-
wheneyer, for want of natural exudation, their
, coats get dry and harfh j thus continuing to
keep them fmooth, yellow, and glofly, untU
the blue coat begin to make its appearance,’
voluntarily; and then, but not before, begin
to encourage the blue coat.
This ingenious procefs is thus conducted:
Having rubl?ed the Poor thoroughly with frefh
nettles, the dairywoman places fuch of the
cheefes upon it as (he judges to be ready for.
“ coating and upon the top of each cheefe
puts three or four vine leaves ; or, for want of
thefe, a cabbage leaf. This, if die cheefe be
good, will in a day or two bring up the defired
yeftment : but an inferior cheefe will take a
longer time in coating ; and as the leaves lole
their greennefs and lucculencc, fhe replaces
them with frefh ones; and as fhe turns the
cheefes, which is now done every fecond or
third day, fhe re-covers the upper fides with
leaves; but wipes their edges hard with a
clammy cloth ; fo that the edge^ and a narrow
ring round each fide, ever retain the polifhed
yellow hue.
When the cheefes were properly coated, anc^
thejr edges had got fufficiently firm, they were
placed
*33
108,
CHEESE. I
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234
io8.
CIIEESE.
minutes; Mat
placed on edge in a chcefe rack*, and, without
further care, (except once a week moving
them a little round, and now and then wiping
their edges) there remained until the time they
were fent to market, — which was yefterday.
The Joil from which thefe cheefes were made
is a Tandy loam, but lies cooler, and is of a bet-'
ter quality than arc Norfolk foils in general.
The herbage principally ray grals (lolium
per erne ), oat grals (bremus mollis J, and white
clover (trifolium repetis)^ being principally
pew-lays of three to five years old.
* Chttft racks fave Liboar in turning,— colled the che; fa
into a fmall compafs, and put it out of the way of vermin.
They may be varioufly conftrucked. The plate rack, with
four or five tier one above another, feems to be the bell
form. If the cheefes he nearly ofonefize, the rack fliould,
b? made the fame wiefth at the top as the bottom ; but if
they be of different fizes, it ought to be made narrower a,t
the’ top than at the bottom ; and if they be of different
ihicknelTes as well as of different diameters, the fpaccs for
the refpedive cheefes (hould liitewife be varied. A fmall
rack may be flung with a rope and pullies at eacli end ; fq
as to be drawn up and lowered down at pleafure : but
a large one is difficult to fling, in a common room, in that
manner ; it ought therefore to Hand on legs about two
feet high, with a broad bafe-board projeding over the
kgs, fo as to prevent vermin from climbing up into the
Mine was on the latter conflrudion.
. The
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N O R F. O. t K.
1782.
»3S
. The.' cows o( the Lancaihire breed *, an'd of 108.
different age's. ; - pHEESE.
The cheeje, in quality and appearance^ re-i
fembles very much that of inferior Warwick-
fhire, or the two-meal cheelc of Glouceftcr^
Ihire ; being lean and dry, confidering the fpe-
cies of milk j which was neat, or nearly neat,
from the cow.
This inferior quality is probably owing, in
a great meafure, to the quality of the foil ; and
perhaps, in fome degree, to the method made
ufc of in feparating the whey.
With refpedl to the fly, not one cheefe in a
hundred (after the mifehief was firfl difeover-
cd) fuffered from it. There cannot be a great-
er proof of the eligibility of the method in this
cafe pradifed, than that of my being able to
preferve the principal part of the dairy to a
time when there is not, generally fpeaking,
another Norfolk cheefe in this part of the ,
county I,
• That fipmething confidcrable depends on the breeder
•vf.ruty of cow is evident, from »n experiment I made
with the milk of the Alderney cow ; the produce from
which was of a texture almoll as cicfe and firm as bees-
wax, and nearly as high-coloured ; as different, in quality
and appearance, from the produce of the long-horned
ows, as if they were two dilUn^l fpeda of animals,
f On the Suffolk fide of the county, about Harlcflon
and
* 3 ^
io8.
CHESSEv
M I N V T X s.' Mav
If from one year’s experience I might ven-»
ture to diiftate in the art of making cheefe iq
I^orfblk, it would be in this. way.
I. To make ufe of a clcaiw/ell flavored ren-
net,
a. To purfuc the method now in ufe of fepa-
rating the curd from the whey : for, although
' the method above deferibed may be eligible
on rich land (and is praclifed in the counties of
Wiitlhire, Glouccfterfhirc,and Warwickihire), ,
yet, on a leaner foil, it may be prudent to pre-
lerve as many of the butyraceous' particles as
pofliblc in the curd, rather chan to fufFer them
to efcape from thisj and pafs through the whey
into butter provided cheejes of a Jujficient ccn~
texture to fecure them from the attacks of the fly,
can be produced by the method of Jeparating tb4
vthey now in practice in Norfolk, .
j. Tq let the cheefes remain in the prefe
gntil they have acquired a fufficient degree of
»
Snd Difs, the method of making cheefe partakes of the
Suft'alk pratlice ; which, though not celcbrattd, is a degree
above that of Eall Norfolk.
* It is, however, obfervable in this place', that, in point
of mat profit , it is highly probable that the certain advan-
tage ariling from the butter would more than overbalance
4ny frcballc advantage which the quality of the cheefq
would receive by retaining in tlie card a part of this
butter.
Arm-
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■1782.
K O R F O L K.
firmncfs, and their rind fucli a degree of toiigh- •!
nefs, tliat they may, on being taken outof thfe Ch£SSE^..'.v>
prefs, be fafcly handled, without danger of
cracking.
4. To keep their coats fupple and clean;
the firft, to prevent, as much as poflible, their
Cracking afterwards in turning ; and the latter,,
to difcover with greater readinefs, and to rc~.
medy with greater eafe when difeovered, any.
flaw which, through accidents or overfight,’
may happen. ‘ '
5. If through accident or neglefl the fly
Ihould be fufiered to make an inipreflion,
(which is eafily difcoverablc by a dimple in
the rind and its foftnefs to the touch), cut out’
the part afFcfted (perhaps not yet larger than
a walnut), duft the wound with pepper, fill it
up with butter, and clofc it with a piece of
foft paper : thus forming an artificial rind,
which will Iccure it from further injury, until
it has acquired an age fufficient to recommend
it to a purchafer.
By thefe niles, I am of opinion, that checlc
of a middle quality as to richnefs, and fecurc
againft the fly, might be produced in Eaft'
Norfolk ; provided the prejent method of fepa - ,
rating the vokey, vaill give the cheefing a fuffi^ .
dent degree of texture to he handled with fefety *.
*
• My doubts, refpeiling thu matter, arife not more
from
«
j
i
i
I
I
\
i
I
4
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1
*3?
io8.
CpESiSr
M I N u T E 1 May
If not, / am certain, that by adhering clofely
> throughout, to the praftice above regiftered, a
vohdefeme good cheefe, palatable to men in
general, znd proof againft the fly, may be made
in Eaft Norfolk, with a great degree of cer-
tainty.
fVom the loofe crumbly texture of Norfolk oheefes in ge-
neral, ^an 'from the following pradice; which, Hkewife,
ftrengthens my apprehenfions of the richnefs of the cheefe
in quelHon being lowered d>y the Curd having been brokert
too finely in the nhey. - •
A gentlewoman, who lives in this neighbourhood, who
pays aperfonal attention to her dairy, and whofe abilities
in matters of houfehoid are indifputable, fays, that when
(he. wilhes to make a cheefe of a fuperior degree ofricha
nefs, for her own table, (he takes the curd and whey out
of the cheefe-tub very gently, with a fleeting difh (before
they have been any way liifturbed) and puts them imme-
diately into the vat; upon which fhe places a broad hoop ;
by means of which (he is able to pile up a fuflieient quan-
tity of this wheyey curd to fill the vat when pxefled. She
then folds over the cloth, and lets the prefsdown upon it,
very gently and gradually ; fo as to fqueeze out the whey,
and at the fame tiwe fetain that rich milky liquor which
is mixed among the curd, and which by much breaking
before it be put into the vat, is loft among the w hey.—
With.care; (he fays, the whey may be drawn off quite
greca.and clear; leaving the "buttery” particles behind
ill the' cheefe. " By this means, fhe fays, (he has made
cheefes which have toafted as fat asGloucefter(hire cheefe :
but addsi tliat grtet care is neccjfary in katuiling a cheejling
thus made-, far., if.it creci, r.p prfjing nuill ever clofe it
. again.
■ ■ 109.
Digitized by Google
NORFOLK.
J782.
239
109. 109. ‘
•
May 17. In the courfe of laft fummer I butter.
llkewife paid confiderable attention to tlie art
of making butter.j regiftering, at the time of
obfcrvation, the miniitise of the different pro- ,
ceffes. . ■
In the produiffion of good butter, rnuch, no
doubt, depends on foil and herbage aiid fome-
thing, perhaps,, on the fpecics of cow : — much,
neverthelefs, depends upon management . ' .
The different ftages of the art arc,
_• i; Milking the cow. ‘
а. Setting the milk.
3. Preferving the cream.
4. Churning.
. 5. Making up the butter, for prefent ufc.
б. Putting it down, for future ufe.
I. Milking. — Cleanlinels is the bafis of the
whole art. — A dairymaid fhould not be fuffer-
cd to fit down under a cow, with a pail, which
a fine lady would fcruple to cool her tea in >
nor until Ihe has wafhed the teat of the cow and
her own hands ; and, for this purpofe, clean
f^ater and a cloth fhould always be at hand.
A cow
Digitized by Coogl
940
109.
BUTTER,
MINUTES; Mat
A cow Ihould be milked at regular and
ftated hours ; and, if poflible, always by the
lame perfon: for cows, in general, will not
give down their milk fo willingly to a ftranger,
as to one with whom they are intimate. The
conlequcnce is, the richeft and beft part of thO
milk is left behind in the udder, and the cow
which is not clean-milked becomes dry prc-»
maturely.
t'-' a. Setting the milk. Much depends on the
cleannefs of the veflelj the degree of heat of the
milk when fet, and its depth in the veffel. •
In fummer it is difficult to fet milk too cool 1
- — in winter no time Ihould be loft in getting
it as foon as poffible into the pan or milklead.
Should it be fet too hot in fummer, " the cream
does not rife fo fmooth and rich, nor in fo
large a quantity, as when it has beeji fet of a
due degree of warmth *-it is apt to come up
frothy i and does not, in this cafe, prove well
in the churn/’
Judicious dairywomen, therefore, in fumj-
mcr, pour their new milk firft into a large ear-
tfien jar, or other veffel, there letting it remairt
half an hour j or until it be nearly cool, and the
froth be funk and then put it into the lead or
, pan
. Digitized by Google
1 ^ 82 . NORFOLK.
|>an, in which cold water has, until that time.
Hood.
Ifit be fet too cool in winter, the cream will
not rife lb thick as when fet immediately from
the teat, or has had a little hot water put into
the milk ; viz. about a pint of water to a gal-
lon of milk, or as much as will make it new-
milk warm : that is, ninety to ninetyfive de-
grees.
The depth of the milk fiiould not exceed
two inchest from one to two is a proper depth.
If the milk be fet too thick, the cream does not
rife fo freely j nor, confequendy, in fo large d
quantity, in a given time. If fet too (hallow,
it is difficult to feparate the cream from it.
3 . Prejerving ihe cream. — The great art here
lies in keeping the cream free from ranknefs,
to a proper age. .
Frefh cream affords a well-flavored butter j
bufyields a lefs quantity than ftale cream j it
being a received opinion amorig dairy-women,
riiat age, and a flight degree of acejcency in
the cream, increafes the quantity, without in-
juring, fenfibly, the quality of the butter j but
that the fmalleft degree of rancidity in the
cream fpoils the flavour of the butter.
In winter, cream may be eafily kept free from
any degree of acidity j but, in fummer, it rc-
VoL. IL R quirc»
a4»
109,
BUTTER.
Digitized by Coogle
041
log.
bctter-
MINUTES. Mav
qiilrcs fomc care t» keep it entirely free even
from ranknefs.
A quantity of cream, though ever fo judi-
cioufly taken off the milk, will, when put in-
to a veffcl, and fuffered to Hand forae time, 1st
fell a greater or fmaller quantity of milk.
It has been difeovered, that this milk, or
dregs of the cream, which fubfides at the
bottom of the veflcl, becomes rancid much
fooner than the cream itfelf j and that, being
fuffered to remain at the bottom of the velTel,
it prefently communicates its rancidity to the
cream : and further, that if it be permitted to
mix again with the cream in the chum, the
butte'r takes that marbled, half-chcefc-likc
appearance, under which wc too frequently
fee it.
Therefore, a judicious dairywoman never
fuffers thefe dregs to remain any length of
time under the cream. She has two means
of preventing it j namely, repeatedly ftirring
them together to prevent them from fubfi-
ding too frequently j and, when a proper
quantity is. fubfided, pouring oflT the cream
into a frefh velTel, leaving the dregs behind.
In fummer, a good dairywoman ftirs her
cream-jar every time (generally fpeaking)
goes
Digitize.: 1 ■ C lOOglc
NORFOLK
goss into the dairy ; and fhifb it every morn-
ing (and in clofc muggy weather every even-
ing) into a frelh, clean, well-fcalded jar, or
other veffel.
To take off the ranknefs of cream produced
From turneps, the Norfolk dairywomen fome-
times fcald their cream : thisy however, is al-
lowed to leflen its produfHvenefs of butter i
and I was told by a lady, whole attention to
her dairy entitles her to credit in this calc,
that putting a quart of boiling water into each
pail of milk before it be fet, is a more'effcdual
and Icfs wafteful remedy.
4. Churning . — The principal art in churns
ing lies in keeping the cream of a due degrefe
of warmth in the churn ; and in giving it a
due and regular agitation. Warmth and a
rapid motion make it come' quick : eoolnels,
and a gende motion, bring it flowly. If
butter come too quickly, it is left and frothy^
and foon turns rancid ; nor does it part front
the buttermilk fo freely, nor yields fo large a
quantity, as when it has been a proper time in^
churning. If it cofne too flowly, there is
labor loft ; befides the butter lofing its flat
vor and texture. From one to two hours is a
proper length of time in churning.
R 2 If
943
109.
BUTTER,
Digitized by Google
244
MINUTES.
May
109.
BUTTER.
If the weather be hot, the churn ought to b6
chilled with cold water, before the cream be put
into it, and fliould be placed in a cool fituation j
if cold, fcald the churn with boiling water, and
endeavour to churn in a warm room. If, in
either cafe, thefe be not fufficient, add hot or
cold water to the cream, during the time of
churning. ' ■
If the cream be inclined to get frotly in the
churn, open its mouth fora few minutes, to let
in the air, and give the froth time to dilTipate j
and the butter will generally come fooncr, than
it would have done, had the agitation been con-,
tinned for, while the cream is in a ftate of
frothinejsy the butter will not feparate. Rever-
fing the motion has fometimes a good effeft
• It is this ftate of frothinefs, (fermentation it cannot
be called) which fcunetimes gives inexperienced dairyl
women much fatigue of body, and anxiety of mind. In
the days of witchcraft the caufe was readily afcribed ; and
the witch was often fuccefsfully burnt-out, with a red-
hot poker. The devil, to this day, is now and then fub-
jefted to a limilar treatment; and with equal fuccefs: for
^ while the poker is heating the froth fubfides ; and, in cold
weather, the warmth communicated to the cr.eam renders
this ftroke of heroinilm doubly efficacious. There may
be other caufes (than the frothinefs of the cream) of that
obftinate delay which not unfrequehtly happens in this
imporant operation ; which well deferves a philofpphi-
cal inveftigadon.
If
Digitized by Googic
N O R'F O L’K.-
MS.
1782.
If the butter come in fmall particles which
are flow in uniting, {train off part of the but-
termilk j and the butter, in general, will fooner
gather. Reverfing the motion generally gathers
the butter quickeft *.
5. Making up the butter. — When the butter
is fufficiently gathered in the churn, which is
known by the largenefs of the lumps, and
the cleannefs of the dajhersy it is taken out ;
kneaded in a bowl, or other fhallow veflel, to
let out the buttermilk ; Ipread thin over the
infide of the bowl, and clean cold water poured
over it j kneaded, broken, and re-fpread in
the water j the water poured ofF; the butter
beaten, in large lumps or handfuUs, of three or
four pounds, againfl the fide of the bowlj
re-fpread J faked j the fait worked in? re-
wafhed ; and re-beaten, until the water come
off unfullied j which it will do after two or
tliree walkings. It is then broken into pound-
lumps J re-beaten againfl: the bowl j and
printed, or otherwife made up.
But before tlie dairywoman begins to take
the butter out of the churn, fhe firft fcalds,
and then plunges immediately into cold water,
every velfel and thing which {he is about to
make uic of j in order to prevent the butter
* A horizontal or barrel churn is here to be underilood.
R 3 from
109.
BUTTER.
Digitized by Google
Mxx
.
109.
JUTTEl^.
MINUTES.
from fticking to them. In fummer, when the
butter is very foft, it is fometimes necefl^r)^ to
rub them after fcalding with fait, which greatly
jiflifts the wood in retaining the moifture.
She alfo puts her owm hands into the hotteft
•water flie can bear tlicm in j rubs them with
laltj and immediately plunges them into cold
water : — ^this fhc repeats as often as fhc finds
the butter flick to them.
There is a finijhing operation, which is Ibme-
times given in the neighbourhood of the me-,
tropolis, and perhaps in fome few provincial
djftricls ; in general however this excellent
finilh is omitted j — either through want of
knowledge, or want of induftry, or through
folicy : for its ufe being to give, not only firm-
nefs and a w?x-like evennefs of texture to the
-butter, but to extract from it, entirely, the but-
termilk and the water in which it has been
wafhed, the quantity is thereby leflened ; for
:fo many oynces of milk and water extrafted,
fo many ounces fewer of butter go to market ;
this however is the belt proof of its utility j
and butter cannot ftridly be faid to l)e market-
able, until it has undergone this operation ;
which is thus performed.
The bowl or tray being wetted, to prevent
the bwu^r from fticking to it, and a cheefe-
ploth
Digitized by GoogI(
NORFOLK.
U7
» 7 ?a.
cloth ftralner or other cloth being waflied in
clean cold water and wrung as dry as poflible ;
a pound lump of butter is placed in the bowl ;
and, with a ftroke of the hand proportioned to
the ftiffnefs of the butter, is beaten with the
cloth. As the pat of butter becomes flat and
thin, it is rolled up with the cloth, (by a kind
of dexterity which can only be acquired by
praflicc and agwn beaten flat; the dairy-
woman, every three or four ftrokes, rolling up
either one fide or the other of the pat, and
moving it about in the bowl to prevent its (lick-
ing. As the cloth fills with moifturc (which
it cjE^tra^ls from the butter and imbibes in the
manr^jr of a fpunge) it is wrung and re -walked
in clean cold water. Each pound of butter
requires, in cool weather, four or five minutes
to be beaten thoroughly, but two minutes are
at any time of efiential fcrvice.
In warm weather it is well to beat it two or
■three times over ; as the coolnefs of the cloth
a(Tifts if) giving firmnefs to the butter *,
• 178), July 23, Weighed a l»)mp of batter before
and after being beaten with a cloth- Before beating it
weighed fixteen ounMs and a quarter ; after beating fifteen
ounces and three quarters ; julf h^lf^ ounce of butter-
milk and water being abforbed by the cloth, during
about threeminutes beating, The cloth waswrung equally
hard before and after the operation: a cotiliderable
quantity of jaiik and water was wrung out of it.
R 4 6, Putting
109.
BUTTER. -
V
Digitized by Google
MINUTES.
S4»
109.
SUTTER.
Matt
6. Putting down . — The more pure the gutter
is when put down, and the more perfefUy it is
afterwards kept from a communication with
the outward air, the longer it will retain a Hate
pf perfeft Jweetn^s.
The purity of butter confifts in its being
free from internal air, moifture, filth, and a
mnknefs of flavor.
The prefervation of butter therefore depends
principally on the fajlure and the method of
making. If the pafturc be rank, whether through
Joil,manure, oxberbagsi\\\% generally injudicious
-to put down butter from it. But if the pafturc
be fweet j and the cows be properly milked,
the milk judicioufly fet, the cream carefully
kept and properly churned ; and the butter
well worked up, with an additional quantity of
fait ; there is litde art necelTary in putting it
down fo as to preferve it fweet for feveral
months ; neverthelefs the more judicioufly it is
put down, the longer it will retain its fweetnefs.
There are various veflels ufed for putting
down butter. When a length of carriage is
neceflfary, wooden firkins are the fafeft : gla-
red earthenware, however, is preferable when
it can be made ufe of with fafety and conveni-
cncy : for, out of this, the external air may be
entirely fecluded.
. . The
Digitized by
178a. NORFOLK.
The figure or (hape of a butter jar fhoulJ be
that of the lower fruftum of a cone j namely,
wider at the bottom than the top ; relembling
the (landing or upright churn : the top of it
being made fufficiently wide to admit of its be-
ing filled conveniently j but not wider.
This form prevents the butter from rifing in
the jar, and effedlually prevents the air from in-
finuating itfclf betweeh the jar and the butter;
whofe natural elafticity prelTes it in this cafe,
(till clofer to the Tides of the containing veflel :
but, were the form of this reverfed, the fame
propenfity of expanfion in the butter would
feparate it from the fides of the jar, fo that
towards the top a knife might (as it frequently
may) be drawn round between them, and the
air of courfe have free admifilon.
The method of putting it down is this .
The butter having lain in pound lumps twenty^
four hours, the dairywoman takes two or tliree
of the lumps, joins them together, and kneads
them in the ipanner in which pafte is kneaded.
This brings out a confiderable quantity of wa-
tery brine ; which being poured out of the
bowl,' die butter is beaten with a cloth as be-
fore ; and the jar having been previoufly boil-
ed, or otherwife thoroughly fcalded, and
having
2*9
109.
BUTTER.
Digitized by Coogic
Mat
» 5 »
109.
fUTTtR.
t
MINUTES.
having flood to be perfefUy cool and dry, the
butter is thrown into it, and kneaded down as
clofe and firm as pofFible, with the knuckles-
and the cloth alternately ; being careful not to
leave any hollow cell or vacuity for the air to
lodge jn ; more particularly round the out-
fides, benveen the butter and the jar — and fof
this purpofe fne repeatedly draws her finger
round by the fides of the jar; preffing the
butter hard, and thereby uniting intimately the
jar and butter.
It is fortunate when the jar can be filled at
one churning ; but when this cannot be done
conveniently, the top is left level ; and, when
the next churning of butter is added, the fur-
face is raifed into inequalities, and the twQ
churnings united into one mafs.
The jar being filled with butter, to widiin
two or tliree inches of the top, it is filled up
with brine ; made by boiling fait and water (in
the proportion of a handful to a pint) ten mi-.
nutes or a quarter of an hour ; ftraining it into
a cooling veflcl ; and, when perfcftly cool,
putting it upon the butter, about one and a half
or two inches thick. If a wooden bung be put
upon this, and a bladder tied over the mouth
of the jar, butter thus preferve<l, from a good
<. pafture.
Digitized by Google
1782 . NORFOLK.
pafture, will remain perfefUy fweet for almoft
any length of dmc; provided the jars be
placed \n.?i dry and (ool fityation,
■ IIO.
May 1 8. (See Min. 97). There is not
now lefs than four pounds a head difference
between thefe t^vo parcels of bullocks ! yet
Mr. ■ ■ is defcrvedly reckoned a good
farmer i and has treated his heifers in the com-
jTion way of throwing turneps to them ; firft
on his wheat ftubbles, and afterwards on his
ollands.
There was one thing, it is true, very much
againft Mr. ; his beft piece of turneps
Jay detached from his farm ; except from a part
which was too wet to be thrown upon j and
although he got a neighbour to let him throw
upon an adjoining piece of young clover (giv-
ing him the teathe for the conveniency), yet
he had no other “ fhift” than that of his tur-
nep-clofe itfelf j dravdng from one part and
throwing upon the part already bared; and
this fpring being unmercifuUy wet and cold,
the bullocks flood to their dew-claws in dirt j
and, what was worfe, had no other place to lay
down on. This was undoubtedly againfl them.
Never
*SI
log.
BUTTER.
BULLOCKS
AT
TURNEFS.
Digitized by Coogle
1 10 .
BUMOCKS
AT
TVR.N£PS.
MINUTES. Mat
Ncvcrthclcfs it is obfervablr, that bullocks
in general, this year, have not done better than
thefc. Mr. ’s have not done better : he
had three under-done ones "turned out” of
Smithfield laft Monday : and Mr. is
not an inferior grazier.
Yet notwithftanding the badnefs of the fea-
fon, and the much-complained-of badnefs of
turneps, this year, Mr. Baker’s heifers -have
done extremely well. For, although they
were bought-in on very high terms, they will,
if they meet with a fair market, nearly double
their fiifl coft.
I have flill continued to attend particularly
to the fatting of thefe heifers ; which was thus
conducted. They have had plenty of turneps
and a clean trencher” every day j with plen-
ty of followers to lick up the cnimbs ; fo that
the fatting bullocks only picked and chofe the
prime of die turneps : ar*d in thislcems to con-
fift the excellency of the management. For
tliefe heifers were fatted abroad, where they
fcmained night ^d day ; with ftraw fcattered
under the hedge. Toward the fpring, how-
fver, when the turneps began to lofe their
goodnefs, they had bay inftead of ftrawi
This practice, which is not pecgliax to. Mr.
5. is very judicious j {ox tlie bullocks are
thereby
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• NORFOLK;
*53
1
1782.
thereby led on from turneps to graft, without
receiving a check between them.
The above is not the only inftance of Mr.
B.’s Ikill in grazing. Laft year, he fold two
Galloway bullocks for near fifty pounds. —
Thefe, however, he had kept “ over-year
that is, from Oftober 1779, to May or June
1781; eighteen or nineteen months.
' But a few years ago, he fold in May-June*
five Scotch cattle (which he had bought in, at
St. Faith’s fair, the preceding Oftober) for
twenty pounds a piece. The lot confifted of
ten : — the other five he fold at feventeen, eigh-
teen, and nineteen, pounds each. This half
fcOte did not coft him quite nine pound ten
(hillings a head ; fo that, in about feven months,
he doubled his money. •
But what is ftill more, about four or five
years ago, he bought nine Iriflj bullocks at St.
Faith’s ; namely, feven at levcn gumcas each,
and two at fix pounds fifteen (hillings each.
Thefe he finilhed by the beginning of
June, and fold (in Smithfield) four of the
fmalleft at fixteen pounds a piece ; the
remainder at eighteen pounds or upwards.
This is probably the greateil grazing that ever
occurred in the county.
Much,
loi.
BULLOCKS -
AT
TURNEPS.
breed of
CATTL^.
Digitized by Google
>54
no*
fiuvmo
MtLOCKS.
MINUTES.' MAf>'
Much, however, may depend on the choice
of a bullock for fatting. The Norfolk farmer*
know, or pretend to know, whether a bullock
will p-ow during the time of his fatting ; and
it is the bullock which grows and fats at thtf
fame timej which leaves moft profit to the
grazier. If one may judge from Mr. B — ’a
fuccefs in grazing, he is deeply verfed in this
myftery j indeed, the heifers before-mentioned
are a ftriking proof of his judgment in this par-
ticular. For they have grown very eonfider-
ably, as well as fatted kindly whilft the prin-
cipal part of Mn — — ’s, out of which tholh
were drafted, feem, as to carcafs, the lame as
they were laft October.
A thick Ihin is a favorite point in Highland
catdc j and there may be other points fympto-
matic of a growing bullock ; but I am appre-
henfive that a good grazier forms his judg^
ment from general appearances, and from in-
tuitive impreffions, rather than from particu-
lar marks and iigns: and I am of opinion,
nothing but continued pradice, and clofe atten-
tion, can make a man a judicious grazicn
1 1 1 .
May 25. Yeftcrday Mr. — — — IheWed
me another account for eleven more of his .
heifers.
Digitized by Googlt^
Norfolk.
*55
l?82i
heifers, which happened to go up to a good
market laft week. They neated 104/. \~}s.
\od.\, or 9/.iir. a head. They coft about
61 . 1 5J. and tlierefore left a profit of 2/. i Ss. a
piece, only ; but, confidering the high price at
which they were bought in, and the untoward-
nefs of the feafon, they have not done amifs.i
He may thank, however, the fluduation of
Smithfield market.
The preceding week, there was an uncom-
monly full market. Smith, alone, drove feven
fcore. The demand was glutted and the prices
low. (A farmer in the neighbourhood fent up
three, which were fold for what he had expect-
ed for two of them!). This frightened the
grazier fo that, laft week, the market W'as
thin, and they fold well.
A week or two at the finiftiing of the tur-
neps feems to be an injudicious time to fend
bullocks to Smithfield and St. Ive’s : — there is
generally a glut about that time. If, there-
fore, bullocks are fit, they ought to be fent off
a w'eek or two before ; if not, they ought, if
poflible, to be kept two or three weeks longer.
1 12.
iii<
BULLOCiCS
AT
TURNfiM#
SMITHTIELO
MARK£T.
Digitized by Google
Matt
*55
112 .
DISTRICT.
SEA-CUFfS.
MINUTES.'
II2.
May 28. Yefterday morning, fet out,
early, for Ingham fair — by way of the feacoaft.
• Made the coaft at Munlley, and kept it to
Hafbro’j fometimes riding above, fometimes
below cliff.
There being a large fleet of fliips, clofe in
land, fleering to the northward, with a gentle
breeze upon the quarter, and the morning mild
and pleafant, the ride became delightful ;
though fometimes rendered awful by the
height of the cliff, and the narrownefs 'of the
path immediately upon the brink of it; more
cfpecially as the cliff itfelf is of an earthy crumb-
ling texture, and liable to “ Ihoots,” whereby
many acres are every year fwallowed up by the'
fca.
Mr. Baker (who rode with me) fliewed me
the remains of a field, which men, now living,
remember to have been twelve acres ; of
which there is now only a corner of two or
three acres remaining. Had this piece lain
parallel with the line of the cliff, every rod of
it mufl have long fince difappeared.
The lofs is the greater, as the foil is rich
and prolific in a fuperior degree. Noble crops
' rife
Digitl'c:' 'z- Gm
t 782 . .N O R f O L K.
Hfe clofe to the edge of the cliff ; except in
fome places where the fea fand is blown up in
too great quantities ; which k is, moft parti-
cularly toward Munflcy, where the cliff is not
lefs than one hundred feet high ; more than at
Hafbro’, where it does not rife ten feet from
the beach.
In going above-cliff we faw two large heaps'
of marl, which have been got out of the face
of the cliff. ‘
This, it feems, is a common practice of the
farmers whofe lands lie next the coaft. It is
fometimcs drawn up by a wince, which they
call “ davying” ’it upj or elfe run up in
wheelbarrows, in oblique paths, made in the
face of the cliff ; in which manner thefe heaps
appear to have been got up : but neither the
place where it has been dug from, nor even
the path or gangway, except juft at the very
top, are now to be feen j the whole having, in
a few weeks, crumbled into the ocean.
Further^ along the coaft tow'ards Halbro',
the formers throw up a clay, out of the face
of the cliff, which is here very low : and near
the village of Hafbro’ is found a white brick-
earth efteemed the beft in the county.
VoL. II. ■ ■ S T have
«57
112 .
SEA-CUFFS.;
MARt,
Digitized by Google
II vl N U T E S.
May
11 ( 2 .
o6Ast.' - ■ ■
MARL.
COAST.
CLAY.
BRICK-
EARTH OF
THE COAST.
COAST HUSB.
r;I t iiayt; eximineA tlie three different earths*
and tried them tn acid.
-i.'Thc "marl” is a white gritty chalky Nor-
folk marl ; effervefdng verj' ftronglyi
.The .“.clay” is of a browner darker coloiif,
butinterfperfed with (pecks of a white chalky
fubftance : this effervefces very confiderably,
but riot fo violently as the mark •
. . .The “ bcickeartk” is of a dufky-white, or
(lone colour. It is lefs harfh than the other
two fpecimens ■, eafily burfting between the
fingers to a fmooth impalpable powder 5 and
cfferveices (Irongly in acid. This did not fur-
prife me, as J, had enquired particularly into
viiether it was “ good far the land j” for I
have, not yet found a clay which has been fee
oh. as a manure with fuccefs>- which has not
been ftrongly calcareous.- 1 had, hotwever, con-
ceived that bricks could not be made from a
edeareous earth. But the fad is, that this
earth is calcareous, and that the 'Walfliain
brickmakers give. jj. a. load for it upon the
ipot, and. carry it fix or (even miles, to malce
white bricks and pavements of. . ;
__.Th.e farmer knowing with a degree of mo-
ral certainty, .that his land next the fca will
ftoot down into it, why does he not, at once,
cart
Digitized by Google
6 A f 6 L ^
Cart away the rich top-mould for bottoms of
dunghills, &c. and call, at his eafe, the marl
or clay which lies beneath It ? I faw no trace
of a regular plan of this kind, either in this
ride, or in the jdurney to Yarmouth^
Going bdow-cliff gave me an Opportunity
of feeing niofe fully the natilre of the marr'ani
J)larit. The leaves proceed from a fmall crownj
from whcncc,downward,proceedsalong fimple
hoiro\v root, wdih verticils of fibres at different
diftances; according to the depth ; the upper
ones being only tw'o or three, but the'low'er
ones eight ov ten inches, afunder, I rtieafured
one root eight feet long, and I apprehend the
length is generally equal to the depth’ of the
fand-bank. In mowing marram for thatclt,
the wofkmefi keep their ftthes an Inch ot
nlote Under the fiirfade of the land. Marram
upon a cultivated foil (a ditch bank) grows
with a broad flat blade, and does not take that
i^.ffhfike form which it appears in upon the
ftnd-banks.
Norfolk Hujlatt'dry.—^\n a latge inclbfure neat
Ingham were thirty fine Scotch bullocks (be-
longing to a capital grazier in that neighbour-
hood) j fome fat, ortiers fatting; weighing from
fifty to fixty ftonc a bullock ; confequcntly
S 2 w'orth
2^9
1 12 '.
COAStHUSB.
MARRAM,
NORFOLK
husband.
Digitized by Google!
May
g.6o
1 12 .
MARKETS.
FATTING
cattle.
M I N U T E S-.
If
■worth from three to four hundred pounds. —
What a fight is this in an arable country !
Ingham Fair . — There were three or four
hundred head of cattle, and more fat bullocks
than there were at- Walfliam and Worftead
jointly ; and thefe, too, finifiied in a fuperior
ftyle. The farmers in that country are, like
their foil, rich j and even now, bad as times
are, are faid to be getting money.
There were a good many buyers ; but the
fellers were unreafonable in their demands.
They did not afle lefs than five (hillings a (lone
for beace that were tolerable meat. Ther?
might be from^ fifty to one hundred fold.
Very little young (lock I apprehend was
fold. There is indeed very little in the coun-
ty ; and, now, the farmers having, from the
wetnefs o( the feafon, a profpedt of grals, they
are unwilling to fell, except at extraordinary
prices,
A farmer ofSouth-Reps fold eight two-year-
olds, forward in flefh, and very pretty ones,
for 5/. lor. a hf:ad. This is paying him very
well, though they have been at full keep ever
fince they were dropt.
It may be laid that fatting cattle at two years
old is nipping bullocks in the bud 5 fo it may j
but
Digitized by •
26 i
4 ’
x:8z. N O R F O'L K.
bi:t if this farmer, for inftance, were to keep
his bullocks till three years old, he would
bring up calves in proportion j fo that from a
given quantity of land the community has the
fame or a fimilar quantity of beef.
Ingham fair reaches four or five miles
round on every fide. We breakfalled at
Hafbro’, baited at Ingham, and dined at Brun-
ftead ; a circuit which Mr. B. and his friends
take every year, among their relations and ac-
quaintances. This fpecies of fociability and
hol'pitality is not peculiar to Ingham : Wal-
Iham, Worftead, South-Reps, Alboro’, St.
Faith’s, &c. &c. have their fairs, more famed
for their hofpitality than the bufinefs tranfadcd
at them ; except the laft, which is one of the
largeft fairs in the kingdom.
Yorklhire has its feajls •, other countries
^eir wakes •, and Norfolk its fairs.
113.
June I. This morning v/ent to fee Mr.
Baker’s fix heifers go ofi' for Smithfield mar-
ket with five underdone fteers of Mr. D.
The heifers are beautiful ; one of them
nrore elpecially : fhe is “ full everywhere” — no
point higher finifiied than another ; and is, to
life the grazier’s phrafe, as fii,-m as wax, and
S 3 «P-
1 I2«
FATTING
CATTLE.
NORFOLK.
FAIRS.
SELLING
BULLOCKS,
Digitized by Google
i 62
1 * 3 -
SELLING
bllloCks,
BUYING
^Ui.LUCKS.
M I'N U T E S. JqNi?
appears fo complcatly ftufFed within, that flic
feems to walk with difRculty. There is another
appears, to the eye, to be fatter than this j but
flie bandies loojc-, and will probably wafte much
in travelling ; whereas Mr. B. has no doubt
(and he I'peaks from experience) but that the
former will Jhem her, points better in Smithfield-
m?rket than flie does now ; adding, that a
“ right-fat bullock does not Ihrink in travel-
“ ling nearly fq rpuch as one which is only
meaty.!’
Enquiring, of the. drover, ^s to who has fe nt up
the beft bnUocks this year j he faid, that Mr.
R— ' — , of R-; Hall, had fent the beft lot
he had driven diis year. Ah ! fays Mr. B — ,
“ Peter always buys a good bullock. If a man
“ don’t buy a good thing, he can never expedt
“ p Jiave any thing capital ; he does not mind
“ a few fliillifigs at St. Faith’s adding, that
“ we tliink nothing of a difference, at this time
of the year, of three or four pounds a bul-
“ lock j but look as much at fhillings on Fay’s
“ Hill, as we do at pounds in Smithfield.”
This dropt fpontaneoufly from Mr. B. and
isj no doubt, the principle and grand bafis of
Ills own praffice. For he always buys the beft
bullochs he can lay his hands on j and he is,
and
Digitized by Google
tjSz. NORFOLK.;
and has been for fome years, • efteemed very
juftly the beft grazier in fits neighbourhood.
It is obfervable that bullocks have got on
very fall at grafs this fpring. Mr. B. gives
for a reafon, that the weather is coolj and altho’
it has been wet, rainy weather does not hurt
bullocks • fo much as it docs Iheep. Hot
weather, he fays, is the word for bullocks ; “ it
“ fets them a-gadding makes them cock
their tails and run about the clofes j and
nothing checks them more.”
1 1 4.
June i . How helplefs are the Norfolk far-
mers on a wet foil ! If the water do not run
through it like a fieve, they are at a (land :*if
it lodge on the furface, they are loft.
This uncommonly wet fpring has emban-afTed ‘
them. Mr. ■ ; — , one of the oldeft and beft'
arable farmers in the neighbourhood, came to'
me the other morning to defire I would let hinr
have a little wood to “ bufti-drain” a piece of
land, which he ^vanted to fow with barley ; but
which he could not get upon j it being under
water !
I reafoned with him on the impropriety of
Bnderdraining a piece of land while it lies
S 4 Topped
I13..
BULLOCKS.
AT GKASSv
NORFOLK
husband.
Digitized by Google
1 14. ’
VORFOrX
IIUSBAND.
»
SOIL
PROCESS.
MINUTES.' June
foppcd in wet, and which was to be immediate-
ly trodden with the plow and harrow horfes. I
could not, however, convince him of his error ;
and hoping tliat it might hereafter be of fome
ufe, as well as to prevent a clamour, I tliis
morning went and let him out fome alders
(juft broken into leaf!), and went to fee his
ppe rations j which are in fome forwardnels.
The clofe is nearly a fquare of ten acres j—
lying with a moft defirable gentle defeent ;
and the little quantity of water, which flood
upon it, was towards the bottom of the piece •,
in the place where the waterfurrow. is ufually
made ; but where he is making a trench for a
fub- drain !
•The foil is a flrongilh fandy loam j lying on
a pcrfeftly found abforbent brickearth j but
which, from three or four months continual
rain, had become fatiated : and all that could
be poffibly wanted, at prefent, was a furface-
drain to carry off the fuperfluous water.
His fon, who I found was a principal in the
bufinefs, though deferv’edly efteemed one of
the bell hulbandmen, of his years, in the coun-
ty, went with us. He feemed to think that
#ie water might have been got off, but then
how v/erc tliey to have plowed and harrowed
without
Digitized by Googl
1782,. NORF'OXK.'
without filling up the drain ? I told him,- that*
if he had put one horfe in a plov/ and drawn;
each furrow (the foil lying in five-pace warps),
and afterwards had taken two and cur a deep
crofs furrow; then let on one man to fliovel
out the crumbs, and another to open the eyes
of the interfurrows with a hoe, every drop of
the Handing water might in a few hours have
been got rid of; and, — the land having Iain
in this Hate until a day or twa of fine weather
came — if he had then began to plow on the.
upper fide of the dole, — and worked towards
the outlet, at the lower end of the crols furrow,
— he could have had no more trouble witli the
, fui face water.
115-
June 7. Fence waifs, carried to a proper
height, are warmer and more durable than
battons ; the cuftomary farm-yard fence of this
country (See Build, and Repairs, Vol. I.).
But, if walls are not railed to a proper
height, they aflbrd little Ihelter, and are con-
tinually liable to be uncoped by the cattle. — <
The yard of Antingham-Hall farm is a fufii-
cient inftance of the former, and various in-
• fiances
265-
1 14.
SOIL pro-
cess.
rAR.M-YARD
FENCES.
Digitized by Coogle
m
1J5.
YARI>-
ftNCES.
■C1LD1KC3,,
MINUTES. June
ftanccs of the latter occur on different parts of
this eftate,
A fence-wall to a fajrin yard Ihould not be
lefs than fix feet high the coping is then out.
cf the reach of the flock. W here dung is laid
againft it, the height ought to bke ftUl greater. ■
Battoning is very expaifive, frequently .
ou» of repair.
Ports, rails, and kids are, in many points of
\iew, preferable.
ill 1 6 .
' June 8. It is very dangerous to run up
Jea-ftone walls too quick. Mr. — — had on©
fhot down the other day at Antingham, and
nearly killed one of the workmen. The wea-
ther was wet, and the bricklayer run up the
wall, at once, without rtoppmg, at intervals, ta
let it fettle. The rtones being already fatu-
rated with wet, could not abforb the moirture
of the morear j-7-the air bebg alfo moirt, the
mortar, of courfe, remained pappy j and fea-
ftoncs, being globular, have no other bend or.
ftay than the mortar ; whid; being unable to
hold them together, the fupec-incumbent
weight crulhed down the whole.
Hacf
Digitized I , Goi
tjBz, N O R F O.L-K.-
Had the bricklayer proceeded by ftages, }et-
tjng the lower parts get Ibfficiently firm before
the upper parte had been laid on, the mortar
would have had time to ftifien, and the wall
would have ftpod. ^
If the ftones and air be dry, one halt, whei>
the wall is a few feet above the foundaUorV) i?
generally found fufficient. -
June 13. Thb afternoon, went to fee the selling
•Smithfield drover pay off his “ mailers,” atliis
chamber, at the Angel, at Wallham (Markets .
day — Thurfday).
The room was full of “ graziers,” who had
If nt up bullocks lafl week, and were come, to-
day, to receive their accounts and money.
What a trull ! A rmn, pei-baps, not worth a
hundred pounds, brings down twelve or fifteen
hundred, or, perhaps, two thoufand pounds,
to be dillributed among twenty or thirty per-
fons, who have no other fccurity than his honelly
for theij- money nay, even the fervant of this |
man is entrulled with the fame charge; the i
4 « 4 ■ - ® ■ I
pialler going one week, the man the other :
but fo it has been for a century pall j and I do
not learn that one breach has been committed.
The
116.
SEA-STONt
WALLS.
Digitized by Coogle
268
MINUTES.
June
1 17.
SELLING
ra.LOCECs.
Tlie.bufinefs was condufl-ed with great eafe,
regularity, and difpatch. He had each man’s
account, and a pair of faddlc-bags with the
money and bills, lying upon the table : and
the farmers, in tlieir turns, took their feat at his
elbow. Having examined the falefman’s ac-
count ; received their money ; drank a glafs or
two of liquor ■, and thrown down frxpknce to-,
v'ards the reckoning, they fevcrally returned
into the market.
Lail Monday’s m.arkct being what is called
a whipping market,” the room was filled
with chearfijlnefs and fatisfaftion : there was'
only one long face in the company. This was
a firmer who had fent up three bullocks, for
which he had twentyfour pounds bade at
"Walfham fair ; whereas the falefman’s account
from Smithfteld, notwirhftanding the goodnds
of this week’s market, was only twentytwo
pounds.
Such is the uncertainty of Smithficld mar-
ket ; and fuch the misjudgment or partiality
of the Smithficld falefmen. If thefe bullocks
were worth twentyfour pounds at Walfhain
fair, dicy ought, after three w'ceks or a month’s
grafs, and confidering tlic market and the ex-
p r.ccs Inclined, to have fetched twentyleven,
twenry-
Dil;
NORFOLK.
269
1782.
twentyeight, or thirty pounds, in SmithBeld ;
but they will not neat twentyone pounds.—
From twenty two pound, the grofs fale, deduct
the expences, feven Ihillings and onc-pcnny
half-penny a head ; tliere remains only twenty
pounds eighteen Ihillings and fcvenpence half-
penny : little more than two thirds of tlislr
value. '
Laft week, it is true, this farmer had the
bell end of the ftafF: four bullocks, belonging
to four feparate graziers, were fold in one loti
and the falefman divided the lot equally ;
though it was allowed chat this farmer’s bullock
was not worth fo much by ttvo pounds as fome
of the lot !
Mr, Baker received for his fix heifers. —
They fold uncommonly dearj far exceeding
what we had laid them at j for, inftead of five
{hillings, they fetched nearly fix Ihillings a
ftone. One of them v/hich we had hid at forty-
eight ftone fold for fourteen pounds *.
* Among thefe hlfers was a feventh — a " foal-dagged”
one : namely, an open heifer, which had dropt her erdf
in coming from Scotland; and was given to Mr. B. by
one of the drovers, to make him amends for .a .hard bar-
gain of lad year : an inlunce, this, of generoaty in the
drover.
This heifer was treated the fame .as the other fix; among
which Ihe was fatted ; and was, as to f.itnrfs, on a par
with the- reft; was fomewhat larger: .and woald, nb
doubt, nearly as well: ncvcrthclcfi, .Mr. B. know-
117.
SMITHFIEID
M.USKtl.
Digitized by Coogle
tTd
ii;.
SMITHFIHLD
UAM.KCT4
ttSTRICT.
’M I N U T'E g. JuNji
The underdone fleers, which went up with
thefc heifers, (fee MfN. 113. ) fold for nothing.
They did not fetch above eleven pounds
a piece, one with another, hotvnthftanding thejr
weighed confiderably ifiore than the heifers.
This fhewsthe abfufdity of fending bullocks
to Smithfield before they bfe fat ' Mr. B.’s
were “ right-fat,” and fetched fix fliUlings
Mr. D.’s only “ meaty ” and did not fetch
four fhillings and fixpence, notwithftanding the
extraordinary market.
I18.
. June 17. On Saturday lafl fet out for the
Blowfield Hundred, and the Yarjwouth
Marshes, in company with Mr. John Hylton,
of Fclmingham, who formerly rcfided in that
diflricl.
We pafled tlirough the following Hundreds
and Parifhes;
ing the difadvantiigeofts predicament iheftood in, did not
lay her at morO than ten pound. But following thefe hei-
fers to London, and falling in company (on the eve of the
market) with a butcher, to whom he related thefe cir-
cumftances, ho got twelve poiind ten (hillings for her: a
ftriking inftance, this, of the advantage of following bul-
locks to Smithfield : and, in fimilar crofs cafes, or wh^n
the lot fent up is extraordinarily large, it may fornetimes
be prudent fOr a Norfolk grazier to attend the market in
perfon ; but, in general, ptrhaps, it is three or four gui-
neas, and three or four days, unprof tably fpent; provided
the grazier can depend upon the uprfghtnefi of his faUw
Bun.
Digitized by Googif
»J82*
N O R F O t K.
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Digitized by Coogle
272
MINUTES.
June
118.
SOIL OF
BLOW FIELD.
MANURES •
OF
BLOWFIELD. '
HOPS IN
BLOWFIELD.
The foil moft prevalent in tlie Blowfiel.d
HuNDREo is a rich tiark-coloured Joam, of a
good depth j the farmers plowing from five
to feven or eight inches deep j and afieft to
laugh at the fli allow plowing pradtifed by far-
mers in tf/is part of the county.
There is no marl in the Hundred j but, the
river Yare running by the fide of it, the far-
mers get marl verj' reafonably from Nonvichj
and lot on about ten loads an acre. Duna:
they alfo get by water from Yarmouth and .
Norwich. ..'a
_ The firft thing which ftruck me in Blow- -
field Hundred was a tolerably large hopgarden.
We called upon a perfon in the village of ■
Blow field; who' is owner of this and two or'
three. more patches ; he being the principal
grower in the parifiu Enquiring as to tlie — .
quantity of hops grown in this neighbourhood,
he faid that, three or four years ago, there v/ere
ten acres of hops in the parifli of Blowfield ;
which, he added, is more than can be colledtcd
in the of the county. At prefent, hov/ever,
there are not more than five acres, and the
quantity is every year declining. Hops have
lately been low, and the crops Jiave not an-
fwered the expcnce. There are two or three
drying houfes in the town, but they are, except -
one, going to decay. . .
The
Digitized by Google
NORFOLK.
473
*782.
The principal crops of the Blowfield Hun-
dred are wheat, barley, peas, and firft-year’s
clover.
^he Wheats are in general very promifing,
and mark the goodnefs of the foil, and the
plentifulnefs of the manure of Norwich and
Yarmouth.
Saw feveral pieces of dibbled wheat, which
made an uncommonly beautiful appearance :
but the pradtice is by no means general.
The Earleys have alfo a promifing appear-
ance ; and
The FeaSi which it feems are ten-fold more
numerous this year than ufual (owing to the
prefent low price of barley), are luxuriant and
very forward, confidering the feafon. A large
proportion of them " fet that is, dibbled in.
The Clover Sy where they have taken, are
fine j but the Raygrajsy in general, hides the
fmall quantity of clover, even of the firfi year:
and as to two-years laysy there is fcarcely a piece
to be feen in the whole Hundred : the foil is
faid to be “ quite tired” of this crop. The
feedling-plants are, in general, fufficicntly nu-
merous, and look very promifing the firft au-
tumn ; but go off in the courfe of the winter.
Tlieir Turntp crops, too, have failed them
of late. Mr. Batchelor, of Bradftone, (a len-
VoL. II. T fible
i'i8.
ARABLE
MAN. OF
BLOWFIELD.
Digitized by Google
i • V
m
1 18.
arable
MAN. OF
flLOWflELD.
ILOWFIELD
HILLOCK
SHEP.
M I N U T E 3> JoMf
fible intelligent farmer, at whofe houfe I flept)
fays, that twenty or thirty years ago, he never
could get flock enough for his turneps ; he has
finilhed forty or fifty bullocks in a year: now,
he does not know how to buy few enough ; and
docs not finifh more than twenty or thirty ;
the roots do not come to any fize j and have no
“ tack” or proof in them.
■ The Blowficld farmers in general fat their
bullocks in flieds, or in bins in the yard.
Some of their bullock Jheds are large expen-
five buildings. Mr. Batchelor has a very good
one : it confifts of a center building, thlrtyfix
feet long, nineteen feet wide, and about eleven
feet high to the eaves ; with a pair of wid^
folding doors at each end ; and with a leanfo
on each fide, the whole length of the building,
and eleven feet wide.
The center building is the turnep houfe ;
the Icantos, llieds for the bullocks ■, which (land
with their heads toward, or rather in, the turnep
houfe ; from which they are parted by a range
of mangers only } having the full freedom of ^
breathing in its fpacious area. By opening the
doors at each end, a fu/ficient degree of air and
coolnefs may be given in the clofcft weather;
while, behind, the eaves of the fheds are
, brought
Digitized by Google
*75
i 78 i N b R f 0 L K,
I ^ ^
brought down to within five feet of the ground,
and arc boarded with rough boards (excepting
^ opening at each end for the bullocks to creep
in at) to prevent too great a coldnefs in fevere
weather ; thus preferving a due temperature.
Tiiis filed holds twenty bullocks, ten on each
fide, faftened by the neck, with chains, fwiveb
and rings, playing freely upon pofts, (even feet
high. At cich corner of the turnep houfe is a
triangular bin for the topped-and- tailed tur-
neps.
,In autumn, tlie entire bmidrng is fometimes
itfcd as a temporary barn, for buck, peas, &c.
and in fummer, the center part is an excellent
waggon filed : had the doors been made a foot
and a half higher, it would have been an ad-
mirable refuge for loads of corn or hay, in a
fiiowery harveft.
The main building is covered with reed, the
leantos with tiles."
At Kamvorth I faw a ftill more expenfive
bullock filed than Mr. B.’s ; it being all clofe
boarded and painted : the entrance for the bul-
locks are folding doors, which fiiut dole like
the back doors of a barn. The doors to the
turnep houlc, however, are I think ftill fmaller
than Mr. Batchelor’s. The conftrudion ia
T 2 nearly
1 18.
BI.OWFIELD -
BULLOCH
SHED.
Digitized by Google
%T6
Ii8.
BULU3CKS '
AT
TURNEPS IN
BLOWFIELD.
YARMOUTH
MARSHES.
.MINUTES. JuN£
nearly the fame as that of Mr. B.’s, which is a
more fubftantial though rougher building.
The twrneps are drawn into the houfe in carts,
and (hot down in the area; where they are
topped and tailed. — The roots are given to the
fatting bullocks whole ; and the tops given to
the cows and lean ftock.
The man who tends the bullocks, tops and
tails the turneps ; in doing which he ufes a
very large knife and fork, made for the pur-
pofe ; it having been found from experience
that a man, who ftands perhaps fifteen or fix-
teen hours in a turnep houfc, cannot handle
them in cold weather without injury to his hands.
It is confidered as a much more fevere employ-
ment than that of drawing them in the field.
. The Marshes were a new world to me.— •
They form a vaftlevel, containing many thou-
fand acres, of a black and fomewhat moory
foil ; formed, perhaps, originally of lea mud :
it being highly probable that the whole level
has once been an eftuary of the German Ocean.
Until about twenty years ago, this valuable
trait lay principally under water ; except in a
dry fummer. But during that fpace of time a
number of windmills have been erciled, which
Vhrow the water into main drains, formed for
tlie
Digitized by (jOOgle
1782. NORFOLK.
the purpofe. By this means the principal part
of the marlhes are freed from furfece-water
early in the fpring ; fo that cattle may now be
turned into them about the beginning of May,
and are kept free long enough to permit them,
in general, to remain there until nearChriftmas.
The Marlhes, taken colledlively, are, though
nearly levtU not perfedVly fmootb-, being furrow-
ed into inequalities by fwamps ; which, in their
natural ftate, feem to have been the main drains
of the mud-banks.
Thefe fwamps, or “ reed-ronds,” in Ibmc
places of confidcrable width, are now the main’
drains to the Marlhes ; from the grafly drier
parts of which they are detached by banks of
foil; which at once ferve the purpofes of
roads, fences, and embankments.
In the beginning of fpring, the water is
thrown from the grazable parts into thefe reed-
ronds which, in their turn, are alfb drained ;
and mown for thatch, hay, &c. fo that, by the
afllltance of the mills, every part of the
Marlhes now becomes produftive.
The grazing parts are divided intoinclofbres,
of various lizes and figures, by means of water-
ditches, of different widths, from five or fix, tQ
eight or ten, feet wide.
T3 Thefe
I
^77
I18;
YARMOUTH'
MARSHES.
Digitized by Google
minutes.
ii8;
YARMOUTH
MARSH£S.
June
Thcfe water fienccs, ninning in all direftions,
and being of various widths, makes it proba-
ble that the principal part of diem were the
Imallef furrows, or partial drains, which carried
off the rains, backwater, &c. in a ftate of nature.
The ihclofures, or “ marflies,” run from ten
or fifteen to forty or fifty acres each j belong
to a variety of owners ; and are rented by a ftill
greater number of occupiers; almofi: every
former, within fifteen or evert twenty miles,
having his m.arlh.
The herbage of thele marlhes is various, even
in the fame inclofure: for the individual marihes
are far from being level ; they being more of
lefo fcooped out into hollows ivhere the water
lodges a confiderable time after the higher parts
.'are dry. On thefe grows a rich luxuriant herb-
age, compofed of the choiceft m'eadow-grafles ■
while oh the mbifter parts grows a long wiry
kind of gra’fs, which I think the rharfiimen call
“ flat;” and which the catde are very fond ofr
But none of the gfaflTes being yet in blow (the
foa annua exceptbd), and the aquatic graft hot
having yet formed its fruit-ftaljc (the feafbri
being unufually backward), I could not afeer-
tain the fpecies. , ' • ,
Marjhworms . — The Marlhes are infefted by
a. grOb, which laft year deftroyed many acres b(*
' - ' • • graft.
Digitized by Google
N O R F O L ICt
grafs, by eating oiF the roots, about an inch
below the furfacc. This year, the damage is
trifling j there are, however, ftripes to be leert
in almoft every marlh, which look nearly as
brown as the foil itfelf. The grafs is totally
dcadi and by ftriking off the furfece, with the
heel of the boot, the grubs may readily be
found. They arc from an inch to an inch and
a half long, and about the thieknefs of a goofe-'
quill. Their colour is a dark dufky brown,'
with a black head, and two whitifh lines wav>
ing irregularly from the head, along the back,
to near the tail. They are generally believed
to be the grub of the cockchafer ; but I can-
not leam that any one has accurately traced the
metamorphofe.
The Jiock of the Marlhes are principally
young cJtftle, lean Scoj^,” ^ old and young
Ijorfcs. There are, neverthelefi, a confiderablc
number of fatting bullocks •, and fome flicep,
I do not learn, however, that the Yarmouth
mvlhcs are equal, in their fatting quality, to '
thofe on the Thames, or to Romney marlhes.
Bullocks, ncyerthclels, .which have been at tur-
neps, and have had the ^ring bite of clover,
receive no check on being put into thefe
marfhes j but, on the contrary, get, in a few
iponths, a very confiderablc improvement,
Tf ¥
*79
118.
VARMOUTK
MARSHES. '•
Digitized by Google
M I.,Ni,U,T EVS*»
YARMOUTH'
MABLSH65,.
JUNq
<I Jf they •were, properly drained from the
puddles of furfacc water.which ftand on them
till late in the fpring ; their faces fmoothed by*
levelling i and kept fo, by the harrow and rol-
ler i • their quality might be much improved. •
- But, as to improvement, i they are totally*
negkdled ; the catde are permitted to poach’
them in winter ; and. the tuiTocks which' they-
tread up remain ftumbling blocks to them all
tjic fummer: while the dung, coileded by the
marihmen, is fold to the upland formers.
,-;The laiidJbrd finds mills, opens the fence-
drains, and hangs the gates i the tenant, who
generally rents them from year to year, and
frequently for. only, one year, nirnsin his ftock
•as loon as the furface is freed from water, and
keeps them in until the water, or the feverity
of the weather, obliges him to draw them off.
•i Thc ftock are under the care of marfimerit
who live in cottages fcattered over the Marlhesi-
— each having his diftrid, or “ level of
« marlhes,” to look after. His perquifite is a
ffilling upon the pound-rent, which is fome-
times paid by the landlord j but more gene-
rally by the tenant.
.. The marlhmen alfo keep cows, which pick
about in the fwamps, roads, and uninclpfcd parts,
•• • . in
Digitized by Google
1782* NORFOLK.'
in fummer ; and for which they mow winter
fodder from die reed-ronds. See. They carry
their butter to Yarmouth, and in winter gene-
rally fell their bay butter above the market-
price of turntp butter j — the univerfal produce
of the county, in that fealbn of the year.
We entered theMarfhes at Havergate, which
(lands on a bold fwell, from whence there is a
very extcnfive view of this great level ; which,
to the left, is terminated by Yarmouth (diftant
about nine miles) ■, to which in fummer there
is a tolerable road, acrofs the Marihes.
At the foot of the fwell, the Marihes com-
mence. For nearly the firft mile, we rode to
our horfes knees in water. T his watery part is
common to Havergate, and there are two rca-
fons for its being overflowed : It is no perfon’s
bufinefs to drain it ; and, wliat is remarkable,
it lies lower than the middle of the Marihes ;
which, it feems, is the highell, and the bell,
land.
The firft marfli we entered was Mr. Batche-
lor’s (who went with us). It contains about
thirty acres : — his (lock are fixteen fine bul-
locks j but it would carry three or four more ;
the grafs being now footlock deep. Thefe
bullocks were at turneps laft winter ; at clover
in
aSi
1 18.
YARMOUTH
MARSHES. ,
Digitized by Google
afii
ii8.
YARMOUTH
M I N y T P S. Juki
in the fpring; and are now doing very well.
Part of them are already fold to the butcher,
^d the reft will be ready by harveft. This is
a fair fpecimen of the prefent tjuality of thefe
marftxes.
We then went over Mr. Hylton’s: his
ftock chiefly two-year-olds, and colts j with
three or four three-year- olds, which he expedh
will be finilhed by harveft.
We afterwards rode through a variety of
marlhcs, belonging to their acquaintances and
relations j and having feen a marft miU, We
made a fweep towards the middle of the level,
and came up at Wickhampton, where the en-
trance is almoft free from water.
Marfi} mills . — The proprietor of a level of
marfhes either builds a mill himfelf, "or pays
fo much an acre to a neighbouring mill ; which
engages to draw off the fuperfluous water.
The conftrudlion of thele mills, and the
principle they a<ft upon, are beautifully Ample.
The body of the mill is built of brick, about
twenty feet high, with fails fimilar ta thole of
a corn-mill, but fomewhat fmaller. Upon
tlje axis of the fails is fixed a cogged wheel, of
a^)ut five feet diameter. This turns a hori-
zontal wheel qf the fame, or nearly the fame
flZCj
Digitized by'Google
1782. NORFOLK.
S ^ # • t''
fize j fixed upon themill-poft, or upright beam: 1 1 8^
which reaches from the top to the botpm of marsh
the mill. Near tlic bottom of this beam Is
fixed a fimilar horizontal wheel j which turns a
vertical one, fixed to the axis of the efficient
wheel. This, as to conftrucHon, is a fmall un-
derfhpt watermill wheel ; but, in its manner of
a<fling, is direflly the reverfej for inftead of
being forced round by a weight of water lying
above it, it gathers up, by the means of its floats,
Ae dead water among which they work, and
forces it up into a drajn refembling a milldam.
This wheel works in a cafe of wood or ftone, •
nicely formed to the floats ; and at the head of
the drain is a valve gate, to prevent the water
from receding when the mill (lops ; it there-
fore, in every relpeft, refembles a \vatcrmill
reverfed.
The mill which I examined raifed the water
about three feet ; which is fully adequate to
the draining of the adjacent marfties.
II9.
JuwE22. (See Min. 39.). YefterdayMr. fatting
Robert Bayfield told me, that he has finifhed battle.
the fale of thole nine bullocks.
One of them fold for ten pounds, and the
reft for about nine pounds a piece fo that in
' ‘ ' left
Digitized by Google
119.
FATTING
CATTLE.
BRTED OF
tA'i'TLE.
^lANURE.
MINUTES., ' JuN 5
Icfs than feven months, taking tlie par of time,
they have more than doubled their coft.
Suppofc diat he kept them, one withanotlier,
twenty-eight weeks ; and that he cleared four
pounds ten fiiillings a head ■, they paid him
three fiiillings and twopence halfpenny a week y
which, notwithftanding the high prices given
this year, is great w ork for a bullock of lefs
than forty ftone j and fiiews, in a ftriking man-
ner, die value of the Norfolk breed of cattle,
... .. ■ / ' 120 , ;
J u X E 30. Obferving, the other day, a dung-
hill, which ajudicious hulbandman was fetting
about for turneps, covered wdth allies, — I alk-
cd him die realbn of it. He fcid, that the
muck being pretty long when it was turned
over, and the weather fince having been dry,
there was much long ftrawy muck at the top,
and on the outfides, which would, have been in
the way of the harrow, and would have kept his
light land too hollow ; he therefore fet it on
, fire.— A new idea i and, in this inflance, well
applied.
f21.
Digitized by Coogle
NORFOLK.
178a.
121. I2I.
June 30. It is very obfervable, that after subsoili
the late cold wet Ipring, wheats on Jcalds are
afFefted in a manner fimilar to what they fuffer
by a dry hot fummer ! looking yellow and
puny.
But it has been faid, it feems, by an old
man, who was the oracle of his neighbourhood,
that “ nothing is fo cold as fand wet.”
If this be a faft, it may account for this very
remarkable incident.
122 .
August 8. This year, the Ipring being turnef
moift and the weather fine, the young turnep-
plants got out of the way of the “ fly,” which
ufually attacks them in their feed-leaf ftate,
with very little injury ; and a fairer prolpeft of
a general and full crop of turneps has not been
feen for feveral years.
Many farmers had begun to fet out their
plants with the hoe; little fulpeding they
were throwing away their labor, and putting
their crops in the way of immediate deftruc-
tion.
T he alarm, in this neighbourhood, was given
about a month .ago at South-Reps j where an
early-
Digitized by Google
i86
122 .
»L'RNM»
CATER.
IflLEARS.
M I N U t E- S; Adc*,
early-fown piece of turneps, through which i
footpath lies; was obfervtd, by paffengers, to*
be covered with the fufpedfed flies'.
The report of this cifcumflance was carried
immediately, by a farmer’s fervant, to the
coaft, about Batkton and Waleot } where^ the
turneps being ftill forwarder, the farmers (who
on that part of the coaft either did not obferve
the flies, or, if they did, were not aware of their
evil efiedts) were bufy hoeing, and received
the intelligence with a fmile congratulating
themfelves on their better fortune ; for hot a
fly was to be feen in their fields ; but, on
turning up the undcr-furfaces of their plants,
they found them fwarming with young cater-
pillars j and immediately ftopped the hoe. —
In the courfe of ten days or a fortnight the en-
tire fca-coaft was ftripped ; and the country in
general, if reports may be credited, has already
fuftained an injury which may be felt for many
years.
Notwithftanding, however, tl\c flics had
cfcaped notice on the part of the coaft above-
mentioned, they were too numerous and too
confpicuous to pafs unobferved on other parts
of it; more efpecially about Cromer ; where
they were obferved, feveral days, before they
were
Digili. : by Google
NORFOLK.
2782.
287 ■
were feen in this neighbourhood; and where 122.
the obfervations made, this year, ftronolv cor- turnep
roborate the idea of their being brought acrofs pillars.
the fea, during a continuatyre of north-eaft
wind, ,
Mr. Howfc, of Overftrand, (who lives near
th*-'beach, and who is a man of good credit)
declares, he i'aw them arrive “ in clouds, fo as
to darken the air and the filhermen of
Beckhithe have made the fame affertion: while,
from the reports of fevcral perfons who live
upon the coaft, they were feen in fuch numbers
upon the cliffs, and in the adjoining grounds,
that, being apparently fpent with their flight,
they might have been " taken up by fhovel-
“ fulls Even in the abovementioned foot-
path piece at South- Reps, three miles from tlic
lea, they were deferibed as refcmblmg « flights
“ of bees.”
The 28 th July, I walked over this piece
with Mr. John Baker, its proprietor. In about
• Afterward, hearing a perfon (unknown) relating this
clrcumftance, I alked him particularly as to the thicknefs
the flies might lie upon the ground ; he faid, in fome .
places he believed they lay two inches thick ; adding, that
they might have been raked up into heaps of almoft any
flze, Perhaps, had fire been put to them in this critical
ftate (which perhaps was not altogether a ftate of reft but
of copulation), numbers might have been deftroyed.
ten
Digitized by Google
MINUTES.
Aoo.
?SS
122 .
Tl'BKEP
CATER.
PILLARS.
ten days after the appearance of the flies, the
young caterpillars began to appear on the un-
der fides of the leaves of the plants; and at
the time I faw them, which was about ten days
more, the plants were entirely eaten up ; no-
thing but the (keleton or ftronger fibres of the
leaves being left ; except upon a fmall patch
or two towards the middle of the clofe ; and
except on a border, round the outfide, under
the hedges, of a breadth proportioned to the
height of the hedge or tree adjoining.
On the weft fide of this dole there w'as a
ftriking inftance of this circumftance. One
end of the fence is free from trees ; the white-
thorn hedge, here, rifing lo or 12 feet high:
under this part, the border was fomething more
than the height of the hedge. The other end
of the fence is full of pollards, with tops from
1 8 to 20 feet I’igh ; and there the widtli of the
border was in due proportion. The firft pol-
lard marked the difierence with tlie greateft
exadnefs !
Almoft every inclofurc has a fimilar border;
and, in fome fmall pightles fet round with high
trees, the plants have almoft entirely efcaped.
Large open fields, and fmaller inclofures
whicli lie open to the fea-ward, have lulfered
■ • moft.
Digitized by Google
1782.
NORFOLK.
289
mod. — The hangs of hills dipping from the
fca have fufFered lefs ; — owing, perhaps, to
the flies overfliooting them in their flight.
The fhade of the trees, or the inftinil of the
animal, may likewife account for the borders
round the inclofures ; but why one patch of
a field fhould be lefs affected than another,
fecms fomewhat myfterious. Perhaps, the in-
feds, being naturally gregarious, may hang
together in bodies, even while they are depo-
ficing their e^s.
Thefe patches and borders, however, though
they efcape the fly, do not long efcape tlie ca-
terpillars j for no fooner have they devoured
their fofter-plant, than they begin to travel in
qiieft of a frefh fupply of food ; and one fide
of the piece being finifhed, they, with a wonder-
ful inftind, travel in bodies towards the other.
The whole field being finifhed, the gateway
and the adjoining roads hav'e, it is faid with
great confidence, been feen black with them.
They feem to neglect entirely the grafles
and every other plant, turneps and charlock
(ftnaps arvenfis ) only excepted. The lafV tlicy
are faid to devour with greater avidity than
they do the turneps thcmfelvcs.
Mr. Baker inftances a corner patch, which,
for want of hoing, had got up almoft knec-
VoL. II. U high;
122.
TURNER ‘
CATER.
PILLARS.
Digitized by Google
MINUTES.
Aug.
290
122 .
TURNEP
CATER -
F1L1.AK.S.
high : the turneps were much eaten, but the
charlocks were ftrlpped to the top.
Various experiments have been tried for
their deftruftion.
Mr. Baker tried //W, fowing it in the mid-
dle of the night, when the plants were moift
with dews, but without effect.
He alfo tried rolling. This checked them,
efpecially if two or three times repeated, but
did not fave the plants. It is oblcrvable, how-
ever, that the plants under the hedges, though
they had been run over two or three times with
a heavy roller, did not appear to be injured by
the operation.
Mr. Chandler, of Munfley, is faid to have
tried foot without effect.
Ducks have been tried by leveral, and with
univerial fuccefs.
. Poultry are faid to be equally beneficial ; and,
if one may judge by a fingle circumftance.
Rooks are highly ferviceable. A large
piece of turneps lying in an open field has efca-
ped in a remarkable manner; it lies near a
rookery, which is a general rendezvous for
thefe birds ■, and I recolle£t to have feen tliis
piece, more tlian once, covered with them.
Where
Digitized by Google
291
1782. K O R F O L K.
I
Where the plants have bein hoed out, many
pcrlbns have handpicked them j but this is
tedious and expenfive, where the numbers are
great. I have myrelf counted twenty cater-
pillars on a plant, not much larger than my
hand. Mr. John Joy declares, that he has
reckoned " fixteen fcore” upon one turnep;
but it was a large plant, which had been hoed
fome time.
It has been almoft a univerfal praftice among
farmers, when one part of a clofe was cut off,
and the caterpillars were marching to attack
another part which was lefs infefted, to draw a
furrow between them, deepening it with a Ipadc
into a kind of a trench, making the fide towards
the plants to be defended as upright as poffi-
ble; or, if the foil would ftand, fomewhat over-
hanging, in order to prevent the caterpillars
from fcaling it. This, if well done, had gene-
rally a good effect ; and it was not uncommon
to fee the bottom of the trench entirely covered
with them.
I have leen a trench acrofs a gateway between
two tumep-picces for the fame purpofe.
Another expedient pradtifed by many for
checking the caterpillars was, to draw a cart-
rope over the plants, in order to fhake them
U 2 off.
12 %.
TURVEP
CATER.
PILLAR^.
Digitized by Googlc
2d2
122 .
ti:rnep
CATER.
PILLARS.
MINUTES. Auc;
ofF, but I cannot learn that it ever proved
effeftual.
A laborer tells me, that in the " canker
“year,” about twenty years ago, the beft contri-
vance, that was then hit upon, was a kind of
brulh made of furze ; by fixing the branches to
a long pole or axle-tree, v/ith a wheel at each
end, of fuch a height, that the furze bmlhed
the plants without pulling them up 'by the
roots. This not only brulhed the caterpillars
off the plants but numbers of them were de-
ftroyed by the prickles of the furze. -This, in
theory, is very plaufible, and might be good in
praftice ; but I have not feen it, nor heard of
its being ufed, this year. . - ■ r . ’ .
The expedient which - has this year caught
popular attention mofl:, is that of brufiiing the
plants with twigs of elder tied upon a waggon
rope.
Yefterdav, having heard much of the fuc-
cefs of this expedient, I called upon the far-
mer * who had gained dae moft credit by if,
to learnfrom himfelf the particulars^ and to fee
the plants. .
' The brulh is judicioufly made of the ftraight
•luxuriant fhoots of this year, about the thick-
* Mr.'Jonathan Bond, of South-Reps.
* - nefs
Digi ,
N-O R-F-O L K.
* 93 .
1782.
nefs of the finger, sni from nvo to three feet-
long. Thefe are tied upon the c^art-rope with.'
rope-yarn, about four to fix incjics apart, and .
about eighteen or tvrenty feet long upon the
rope. It is drawn by two men, and takes
half a ten-pace warp (about a ftatute rod) at
once. The men lay hold near the twigs r-
— the two loofe ends of tlie rope being tied
together, and drag at a dillance behind the
elder.
The circiimftances attending the piece. of
turneps faid to be faved by this contrivance,
were thefe : part of tht clofe had been fown
early, and the plants were in rough leaf when
the yellow flies firft made their appearance :
— the other fide of it was not fown until after
tiiat time. The forward part being entirely
cut oft', the ground was plowed and fown a
fccond time ; but the plowing and harrowings
did not kill all the caterpillars; — thoufands
were feen on the furface of the ground tra-
velling towards the backward-fown part ; the
plants of which had then got to a confidcrable
fize.
The farmer perceiving this, drew a furrow
and made a trench between the two parts : and
he and his man three times a day (viz. in the
U 3 morning
122..
TURNEP
CATER-
PILLARS.
Digitized by Google
Al'o.
29 +
122 .
TURNEP
CATiR-
Vli^LAKS.
0
MINUTES.
I
morning before they went to their day’s work,
at noon when they came home to dinner, and at
night, when they returned from work) drew the
elder bimih over the plants. The piece is about
three acres, and it generally employed them
about an hour and a half ; cfpecially in the
morning, when the dew made the elder drag
heavy. He has ufed the brufh about ten days,
in which time he has renewed the elder three
times ; and it is now nearly worn out.
After looking attentively for fome time
among the plants, I faw only two caterpillars j
and fo healthy a piece of turneps I do not re-
coiled to have feen : they have been fown only
three weeks, yet they are now fit for the hoe.
In riding towards North-Reps, Ifawafimilar
machine ; but this is made of the rough boughs,
not the twigs. It is a large aukward unmanage-
able thing; — the woody crooked houghs, Ibme
of them almoft as thick as the wrift, drag up
or lacerate the plants j whereas the ftraight
twigs, lying flat and evenly upon the ground,
fhake them in a moft efiedual manner, with-
out doing them the fmallefl; injury j every plant
is kept in a quivering motion from the time
the rope touches it until it be pafled by the laft
leaf ; and, perhaps, in this confifts the merit of
the invention.
The
Digitized by Google
N O R F O L K.
295
178a.
The received idea, however, is, that the eider 122,
is in its nature noxious to the animal. But turnep
this I much doubt z indeed, the experiments piu,Afts.
which I have made convince me that the idea
is erroneous,
The evening before la(h, I took fome frefh
clder-Jeaves, bruifed them between the hands,
broke them in the middle, and put them with
a caterpillar into a fmall tin box ; fliutting it
up clofe with the cover. Yelterday morning,
it was as brifle as when it was put in.
Yefterday, I took a turnep leaf and whipped
it with a twig of elder, and afterwards prefled
them together between the hands for fome le-»
conds, and then put the turnep leaf into a box
of frelh-gathered caterpillars. This morning
nothing but the fibres were left.
Among another parcel of caterpillars I put a
frefh -gathered turnep leaf untouched — -another
whipped, &c, with elder} and a charlock leaf
alfo frefh-gathered. This morning the eldered
leaf was not only confiderably eaten, but one of
the animals was repofing itfclf upon it.
The leaf of charlock had only one perfora-
tion : — -the untainted turnep leaf had feveral.
It feems therefore evident that elder, fo far
from being fatal to thefe animals, is not in any
U 4 degree
Digitized by Google
2q6
122 '.
TURNEP
CATER-
PILLARS.
MINUTES. Aug.
degree difagreeable to them. The merit there-
fore of the elder bruQi (if it has any) lies in its
effectually {baking off the caterpillars with-
out injuring the plants.
But it appears to me highly probable, that it
was the trench, and not the elder, which faved
the plants abovementioned. For if Mr. Tho-
mas Shephard, of North-Reps, be accurate in
the relation of an experiment which he made
twenty years ago (and I have no reafon to doubt
his accuracy), brufhing off the caterpillars is of
little ufe. He relates, that he had a two-acre
pightle run over with a cart rope, day and night,
• uninterruptedly, for feme days, without any de-
gree of fuccefs j for, fmall as the piece was, tlie
plants on one fide of it woiJd be covered with
caterpillars before the men reached the other
fide. Indeed, if v/e oblerve how foon they
begin to crawl after being thrown down, dnd
how faft they travel when upon their legs, it
feems very probable, that being fhook from
the plants they may regain the leaves, fb as to
begin feeding again, in five miiiutes. It feems
tlicreforc in vain to expeCla.ny efiential benefit
from brufhing them off the plants : for while
they have life, they will encounter many diffi-
ciiltics to preferve it.
, But
Digitized by C
1782. NORFOLK.
• But v/hethcr the plants above ipoken- of
were or were not prefcrved from the caterpil-
lars by the elder briii]?, I am very much of
opi.nion, that in regard to their growth and
hcalthfulnefs, tiiey received fome benefit from
it. The exercife of the v/ind, it is well known,
greatly accelerates the growth of turneps ; and
it feems not unreafonable to fuppofe, that the
exercife of the elder brulh produced a fimilar
effect. The plants in queftion are peculiarly
fine, and the incide.nt appears to me to be worth
preferving.
Towards the fea, where the vermin were
very numerous, the plants were ftripped in afew
days } lb that if the farmer had had fkill, he
had not time, to favc titem. His only refourcc
was, to plow up the ground and fow it a Iccond
time : and it is probable, that two thirds of the
turnep grounds, in Eaft Norfolk, have been
.fubjefted to this treatment.
But what is ftill more unfortunate, fome of
die farmers, who plowed up and refowed, have
loH their fecond crop ; for, being willing to
fave the borders and patches which had fared
better than the main body of the dole, they
left them Handing : but the plow and harrow
not being equal to the ddlrudHon of the whole
of
297
122.
TURNEP ;
CATER^
I’llXARS.
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MINUTES.
Auo.
•J98.
12 ?.
TURNE?
CATtR-
I'lLLARE.
of the caterpillars, thole which furvived crawled
to the plants which were left ; which fupport-
ing them until the yoyng plants got up, they
returned and prcfently eat up the fecond crop.
Some few men are hardy enough to let the
ftalks and fibres remain ftanding; hoping that
they will fhoot again ; and that they may by
this means lave their crops, as well as the trou-
ble and expence of refowing.
August 15. — In my rides to Wroxham,
Baftwick, Staninghall, and Norwich, this week,
1 find that fome hundred acres of turneps have
been faved by Ducks.
Mr. Samuel Barber had, at one dme, upori
his farms, at Staninghall and Woodbaftwick,
near four hundred ducks at v/erk ? and, thro’
their induftry, has faved a principal part of his
crop:— had he begun to employ them fooner,
he believes he fhould have faved the whole.
7'he different detadiments (fome of them
near one hundred ftrong) were kept by a boy
or girl. They were regularly driven to water,
a;jd relied three or four times a day ; but had
no corn nor any other food given them. After ‘
having drank, they would difgorge the cater-
pillars in great abundance ; fo that they foon
fell to again, with frelh appetites.
Half
Digitized by
N 0 R F O L K.
\
Half or three-quarter-grown ducks are pre-
ferable to old ones, which are lazy, and will
fooner eat the turneptops, than run after the
caterpillars.
It is veiy amufing to fee the young ones dart
at their prey : thefe, however, when the cater-
pillars grow fcarcc, take to the turneptops, and
after they have reduced the vermin to a certain
ebb, do the turneps more harm than the cater-
pillars themfelves do.
This has been ufed as an argument againft
employing ducks ; and, in refpeel: to old ducks,
it may have its weight : but if the caterpillars
arc fo few as to tire the young ducks in look-
ing for them, tire plants cannot fuftain any ma-
terial injury from them.
The fact leems clearly to be, that where on«
acre of turneps has been faved by any other
means whatever (handpicking excepted) an
hundred have been faved by Ducks.
Poultry m,ay be equally good (and perhaps
without the evil attendant of eating the plants) ;
but their ule docs not feem to have Ireen dif-
covered, or attended to, until too late.
Alfo, when a piece of turneps has been \f\
danger from the enemy in the neighbourhood ;
but not already infefted i cutting a trench ha%
perhaps
- 122 .
TURNEP
CATER-
PILLARS.
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300
M I N U T E S.
Aco.
122 .
TTOVEH
CATER.
PILLAR.
TENTHREDO
THE
perhaps been very beneficial : filling the bot-
tom of it with ftraw^j and, when the caterpil-
lars were in fufiicient numbers among the ftraw,
letting fire to ir, feems to be a late, though an
ingenious improvement.
Auc. ao. The firft of thb month I ga-
thered, aliv'c, ciglit or ten of the yellow flies
fuppofed to produce the turnep caterpillars,
alfo a parcel of the caterpillars themfeh-es.
The flics were eafily caught by beating them
from the leaf to the ground, where they lie,
apparently lifclcfs, rime enough to be picked
up. Brought them home in a fmall box, and
put tlrcm into a drinking glafs, covered with
perforated paper.
Before I could get a third fly into the glafs,
the two firft, happening to be a male and fe-
male, were in the adl; of copulation j and be-
‘fcrc I could get in die whcle, two more were
in the fame amorous fituation. The party con-
fifting of nearly an equal number of males and
females, an almolt inceflimt ardour prevailed,
till the clofe of the evening j and, fetting them
in the fun the next morning, their amours were
renewed.
• Sufpeding them to be of the genus Tes-
^ edo, aiid being willing to difeever the two
' ferrated
Digitized by Google
1782. NORFOLK.-
Icrratcd lamina: mentioned as the diftinguilh-
ing charadler of that genus, I put one of the
females to a flight degree of torture, expefting
Ihe would have unflieathed them as a weapon ;
but I was difappointed : I therefore (that her
pain might be as momentary as poflible) fe-
vered her head from her body ; thinking that
in the agony of death flic might difclol'e them ;
but I was ftill left in the dark : for, to my
aftonifliment, inftead of death . enfuing imme-
diately the decapitation, her body feemed to
experience no great degree of inconveniency
from it. She ran upon the table. I turned
her upon her back : flic recovered her legs as
■ nimbly as ever ; fpread out her ^ings, and ac-
tually made an attempt to fly. Three hours
after her head was fevered, her body was to
appearance perfedly alive j and hov/ long Ihc
lived afterwards I know not ; for, conceiving
that without the head the body could not be
fcnfible of pain, I did not prefer/e or deftroy it.
My curiofity, however, was afterwards gra-
tified in a manner I had not expefted; for
putting a frefli turnep leaf into the glafs, as
food for fomc caterpillars which were alfo in
it, I perceived one of the female flies pecu-
liarly bufy in examining the different parts of
i the
3c »
122 .
TENTHRJEDO
OF THE
Tl’R.NEl*.
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I
302
MINUTES. Atjoi
122 .
TENTHREDO
OF THE
TURNEP.
tlic leaf ; and obfcrving her to be partial to a
part which was fortunately on the outer fide
of the leaf towalxls the feye, I took d magnifier*
and placing it againfl: the outfidc of the glals,
law her very dlftinffly unfhcath her inftru-
mentSi infinuate them into the edge of the
leaf, to a depth equal to their flillefi; length ;
and, having feparated them fo as to form a
channel or pipe between them, placed her
pubes to the aperture : remained in that pof-
ture a few fcconds i deliberately drew out the
inftruments ; Iheathed them j and immediately
.went in queft of another convenient nidus. —
Standing by a window on which the fun fhonc
ftrongly, and holding the fubject between the
eye and the light, I faw the operation very evi-
dently.
The inftruments are brown, relembling in
■colour the fting of the bee, but much finer, and
appear to be flatted j but whether they are or
are not ferrated, I cannot be pofitive. In the
courle of two or tliree minutes I law her make
three or four depofits.
One cf thefe flics lived eleven days ; other
two, eight or nine ; the reft, feveh or eight
days. — The females died firft.
What their food is I am not certain. — The
«
only thing put to them in the glafs were green
turncp-
I
Digitized by Google
i 78 i. NORFOLK*
turnep-leaves. I fancied more than once 1
could perceive them feeding on the finer hairs
of the plant ; but am not clear as to the fact*.
In the clofe of the evening they take their
Hand, hanging down their heads, and putting
their antcnnse down to whatever they ftand
upon ; remaining in this pofture, and appa-
rently in a ftate of fleep or ftupefadtion, until
they become enlivened by the fun the next
morning. •
Their fences are of the colour and confiftcncc
of cream, but dry to a white powder.
The female is confiderably larger than the
male, and, when upon the wing, appears to be
of a brighter yellow colour. — On examination,
however, their colours are fimilar.
The following is a pretty accurate deferip-
tion of each fex.
•Female Fly. ^ntenn^, or horn-like feel*
ers j— confifts of nine joints; the third joint
from the head longer than the reft ; meafure
one hundred and rwentyfive thoufandths of an
inch long; are clubbed; and black.
* I have, fince, frequendy feen them drink the Tap
oozing out at the end of a broken fibre of a turaep-leaf;
and 1 have, lately, difeovered that difiblved fagar i$ a fa-
vorite food. Jan. 1787.
303
122 .
TENTHREDO
OF THE
TURNER.
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MINUTES.
/ 'Atro.
£ 0 »
' 122 .
TEWfHREDO
OF THE
Head, v/ith the eyes, and two car-lik6 appen-
dages, -bkek, • ' ,
Tentacula, or mouth feelers, — four j amber-
coloured. — Mouth whitilh.—
Usings — four ; defiex j thirtyfive hundredths
of an inch long ; light-coloured membrane,
with black nerves. Upper wings with ftrong,
black, clubbed nerves along the outer edges :
■ — under wings, lefs nervous; yrojefting one
twentieth of an inch behind the apex.
- Le^s — fix; amber; with black feet, and five
black articulations.- Hind kgs, three tenths of
an inch long.
Bedy (from the neck to the apex) — thirtyi
five hundredths of an inch ; — bright orange ;
except two diamond-fhaped Icuculi, or patches
on the Iboulders, black.
Thorax — lefs than one third of the length of
the whole body.
. Abdomen — more than fvo thirds of the body ;
and fixed to tlte thorax, ivithout any inJelHon.
Its form is between the cone and the cylinder
(the greateft diameter about half its kngth)
compofed of eight fegments on the upper fide,
and fix on the under fide. Under the two im-
perfeS; fegments, lies the—
Pubes — which opens under the laft perfedl
■ftgmf nt of the abdomen ; — and the —
Sting
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tjSa. N O R F O L Ki
compofed of three \ hanger-like
Inftrunients, with a fpiral wrinkle winding
from the point to the bafe ; making ten or
twelve revolutions : — length about one twen-
tieth of an inch. Inclofed in a Jheath ■, opening
longitudinally ; and reaching from the pubes
to near the point of the tail, where it ends in
a black fpeck. This flieath Hands edgeway to,
and projefts fomewhat below, the bodyj but is
fituated principally in a recefs in the abdomen.
Male Fly. — The fame as the female j ex-
cept that its antennas meafure only one tenth
of an inch in length, — its legs twentyfivc
hundredth, — its body two hundred and feven-
tyfive thoufandth, — and except that beneath
the two imperfedl fcgmcnts lies a plain fcale,
covering the
^which is inclofed in a cloven-hoof-
like capfule^ which forms the point of the
tail.“=— In the aft of copulation the two claws
of the hoof expand, and, in fomc meafure,
embrace the female. — -The penis is cylindri-
cal, fhort, and of a tranlparcnt, cartilaginous,
fubftance.
• Improperly fo termed ) its ufe not being that of a
weapon, but an inftmment wherewith the female form*
her nidufes,
t But fee forward.
VoL. U. X ■ In
305
i22.
TENTHREDO
OF THE
TURNER.
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MINUTES.
Aud«
3<36
122 .
TENTHREDO
<JF THE
Tl'RNEl*.
' In copulating, fomctimes the male, fome-
times the female Invites. The male leaping
the female ; and curling his tail beneath her’s ;
they become united ; and, turning tail to tail,
remain about a minute in the act.
After feparation, the female walks off with
feeming uncoftcern ■, but the male remains fta-
tent for fome time. No fooner, however, has he
recovered himfelf, than’he begins to dreft for
another amour, by cleaning and burnilhing his
body, and antennae, with his legs ; and, in
about five minutes, becomes engaged in an-
other embrace.
The Caterpillar, when fully grown, is
about half an inch long-, and one tenth of an
inch in diameter near the head j the body be-
ing fomewhat fmaller ; twenty legs, fix of
them long (probably anfwering to the legs of
the fly), and fourteen very lhort(perhaps,mere*''
ly adapted to the caterpillar). The entire
animal of a jetty black ; (except a whitifh line
on each fide, juft above the fetting on of its
legs) with many wrinkles, but without hair. •
Having arrived at fome certain period of
life, it fixes its hind parts to a turnep-leaf or
fome other fubftance, and, breaking its outer
coat near the head, crawls 'out; leaving the.
fiough fixed to the leaf.
It
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NORFOLK;
tySi.
It is now fomewhat diminiflied in fize, being
kfs than half an inch in length, and thick in
proportion ; its colour, too, is altered from
black to a bluelfh or lead colour ; with a black
line waving along its back ; and with two
fmall black eyes, which now are become con-
fpicuous. It is {till covered with wrinkles; and
appears in every other refpedt the fame animal
as before.
It is entertaining to feei (thfoilgh a rrtagnificr)
the .caterpillars eat. The avidity and voracity
with which they feed are fimilar to thofe of *a
hungry cow turned into a frefh paflure ; and
the motion of the head and mouth is not un-
like that of the quadruped. If a caterpillar
begins in the middle part of the leaf, it flrft
takes off the furface, towards it ; and does
hot, at once, break through the leaf j but,
having cleared a round part half-way tiu-ough,
it makes a perforation, and prefendy dilpatches
the other furface of the leaf : nor does it after-
wards eat the two (tdes together, but grinds
them down fingly ; Until having made a circu-
lar hole of from one tenth to two tenths of an
inch in diameter, it leaves this for another
perforation.
It feems probable that thefe round holes
are not the effetft of the caprice, but of the
2 infHnft,
122 .
TfNTHREDO
OF THE
TURNEf.
Digitized by Google
122 .
TEKTHREDO
OF THE
TURNER.
infllnift, of the animal, and that they are in-
tended by nature for the conveniency of the
female in depofiting her eggs.
When the caterpillar is apprehenfive of dan-
ger, he coils himfclf up in a circular form,
putting his head and his tail together. If tlic
plant on which he is feeding be fhook, he
immediately coils himfelf up and falls to the
ground j where he lies to appearance inani-
mate, until he thinks the danger over ; when
he unfolds himfelf, and foon remounts the
plant.
August c i . Yefterday morning, going into
a field, where fome plants which had been
ftripped by tlie caterpillars, had been left
Handing to wait tlie eftedl (to obferve the pro-
grefs thefe plants had made), I perceived fome
pf tire yellow flies among them. Being
anxious to procure fome, I went eagerly to
the purfuit, and found them fo abuixlant, that
in half an hour I caught near forty, notwith-
ftandlng they were remarkably wild. Their
alertncfs ftruck me j they being now more dif-
ficult to take than I had found them three
^veeks ago. This led me to the idea that they
are the produce of the caterpillars which dc-
flroyed the plants- abovementioned ; for the
. ground
r • * .. .'v
^Digitized by
N O R'F O L K.:
309.
1782.
ground being left unftirred, the chryfales met
with no interruption, but were left to the bent
of their nature.
Wifhing to trace this infeft from the egg
to the caterpillar ftate, I this morning took up.
a fmall turnep-plant with a ball of earth to it,
and put it into a garden pot, fet on a faucer ot
water. Having a number of the flics in the re-
ceiver of an air-pump (fomewhat bell-lhapcd,
about eight inches high and feven in diameter),
I put this ov^er the plant with the flies flicking
to it : — they prefently quitted the infide of the
ghfs, on which they were refting, for tire
plant j and the fun being warm, they feemed
much delighted witli their fituation. 1
I' looked with impatience to fee the females
begin to depofit their eggs, but could only
perceive one which feemed any way inclined to
the operation, and this did not go deliberately
to tlie edge of the leaf and unflreath her inflru-
ment in the manner I had before obferved.
August aa.-^OnThurfday the 15th inftant,'
I put fix blue caterpillars (bedewed with moi-
fture exuding from their bodies) into a box,
and (by way of drying them and placing them
in a (late fomewhat refembling their ftate ‘in
nature) put fome common garden mould to
X 3 them ;
122:
TENTHREDO
OF THE
TURNER.
Digitized by Google
MINUTES.
310
122.
TENTHREDO
OF THE
TtTCNEH.
Avq,
them i covering two of them up with th<;
mould, and leaving the other four uncovered ;
fome of them being upon the bottom of the
tin box ; fome upon a turnep-l.eaf,alfp purpofe-
ly put in the bo3(.
Friday the i6th. — The whole had difap-
Saturday the i 7 th.-.-Moving the turnep-.
leaf, found one under it, alive, but naked.
This morniijg, to fatisfy myfelf as to the
liate of the other five, as well as to endeavour
to procure a chryfalis, I fearched among the
mould with the point of a botanic needle ; and
turning up one, which ftuck pretty hard to the
bottom of the box, found it crulled with
mould On every fide, exqept that which was
next to the box j on which there was a hole
large enough to fee the animal perfedlly alive.
• *
N
Being willing to colleft all the authentic
information I could, refpefting this interefting
fubjccl, I went down this day to Beck-Iiithe,
to enquire of the fifhermen, there, whether they
had feen the flies arrive in cloud-like flights, as
liad been reported they did.
Old Hardingham, and his partner, declared
to me, and old Gregory had before declared
to Mr. Robert Bartram, who went down with
me.
Digi"'™ by Googlc
NORFOLK.
311
lySi,
me, that they have this year fcen repeated
flights fly over their heads as they lay at a dif-
tance from the fliore : — that they have allb feen
them upon the fea, as well as upon the beach
walhed up by the tide ^and further, that they
have ftcn thofe which the tide had left, begin,
on the fun’s Ihining upon them, to crawl ; and,
having recovered themfclves, afterwards take
wing and fly away : and, moreover, feem to be
of opinion that they fometimes light upon the
water to relt themfclves, and then renew their
flight.
This appearing to me improbable, I have
tried the following experiments. — I took one of
the flies, and placed it gently on a bafon of wa-
ter. It lay upon it, with its legs regularly
ftretched out, as if lifclefs. Having remained
in this pofture fome time, I agitated the water
in the bafon : this rouled it : and, having got
its wings fomewhat wetted, it raifed its tail,
and when the watcf had fubfided, very delibe-
rately dried them with its hind legsj which
having done, and having otherwife properly
adjufted itfelf, it with the iitmoft eafe took
wing, and flew to the edge of the bafon. This
experiment I repeated with the fame rellilt,
I then took another between my fingers, in
fuch a manner as not to injure it, and plunged
X 4 it
%
122 .
TENTHREDO
OF THE
TURNEP.
Digitized by Google
f
3 **
M I*N U T E S,
Aug,
' 122 .
TENTHREDO
OF THE
7URNEP.
It into the water } wetting it thoroughly. Its
wings and body being by this means loaded
with water, its utmofl: efforts to dry them were
in vain : — it ftill however kept upon the fur-
face, and made regular efforts in fwimming ;
by which means reaching the water’s edge, it
crawled out, dried its wings, and took flight,
without having received any apparent injury'
from the ducking.
Thus the filhermen may be right: in a
fmooth fca the flies may reft themfelves upon
its furface, and renew their flight j but, being
once thoroughly wetted by the waves, they
cither perilh, or are brought by the wind and
tide to the fhore ; where, if alive, they gain
foot-hold, dry themfelves, and fly to dry
land *,
• Being t’oubtfjl as to the genus to which this fpecies
of infeft belongs ; and being, undir the about date, in pof-
feflion of fome living flies, alfo of foms caterpillars and
chryfales, I embraced the opportunity of conveying one
of them in each ftate to Dr. Morton, (principal libra-
rian of the Britilh Mufeum, from whom I had been
happy in receiving more than one mark of difinterefted
friendlhlp) in order that the fpecies and its hiftory might
be afeertained ; and, towards this intent, as far as my ob-
fervations had then enabled me, as well as to apologize in the
importance of the fubjeft for the liberty I was taking,
accompanied diera with the JubJlunce of the foregoing mi-
P'ates on this fubjefl. Dr, Morton was pleafed to (hew
them
Digitized by Google
NORFOLK.
3*3
?78a.
August 24. — Being ftruckwith the before-
‘ mentioned incident of the fly living fcveral
hours without its head, I this mornjng, (Sat.) a
quarter before feven, cut off the head of a fe-
male fly, which appeared very brifk and ftrong,
dividing the necl: clofe to the head, fo as to
leave the two black appendages fixed to the
body, without maiming the legs. The body
immediately recovered its legs, and flood as
firmly and to appearance as free fi-om pain as if
its head had been ftill joined to it. I turned it
on its back in order to view the different parts
of it, and left it lying on its fide ; but it pre-
fently fprung upon its legs, and began to adjuft
^nd ck an its wings with as much dexterity as if
pothing had happened to it ; continuing in tiu:
ad for levcral minutes j and, v/hen it left off,
jplaced its legs regularly, firm, and upright as
ufual.
Mr. John Baker faw it at nine o’clock (land-
ing in this pofition ; and the Rev. Mr. Parkin-
fon favoring me with a call between twelve and
one, faw tlte fame. It had, however, by this.
them to Sir Jofeph Banks, ( PreSdent of the Royal Society )
find, through Sir Jofeph’s liberality and difintereftednefs,
the letter has the honor of appearing in the Philofophical
'I'ranfadions, Vol. L)(XIII. Part 1 , for 178 j, page 317.
time
122 .
TENTHREDO
OF THE
TURNER.
Digitized by Coogle
MINUTES.
Auo.
iH
^ 22, time moved a few paces from its firft ftanding-
place, and got its head and antennas, which lay *
hy it, under its body ! It continued upon its
legs all day, and at bed-time I left it ftanding.
On Sunday morning, found it in tl\c very
fame pofture. In the courfe of the morning
it had a regular difeharge of the fccccs. Want-
ing the ftand of the microfeope on which it
, flood, I made it walk onto a piece of writing-
paper. This it performed without a {tumble }
and the inftrument by which I urged it forward
having ruffled its wings, it with the utmoft pro-
priety and compofure adjufled tiicm, and took
Its {land as before,
Between four and five on Sunday afternoon,
v.’ifhing to move it more into thq middle of
tlie paper on which it flood, and being willing
to try its flrength, I put a large needle under
its body, to lift it from the paper : it imme-
> diately laid hold of the needle with all its legs,
and nqt oqly hung to it, but kept itfclf pcrfcflly
upright, and might, I believe, have been car-
• ried to any diftancc. Replaced it on the paper,
y/!rer. it took its ftand as ufual.
In the' clofe of the evening it began to drop
its body nearer to the paper, refting its piil
upon it : but on examining the odier flies in
the
Digitized by Google
/
I7«2. NORFOLK.
3*5
|hc evening, I find that to be the very poRure
in which they all repofc thcmfejves in the
night !
Monday morning, fix o’clock. — In the fame
pofture j but had moved upon the paper in the
night. In the dcj, it flood on its legs as ufual !
At two in the mernoon Mr. Samuel Barber
faw jt. — About five, it cleaned its wings ; and
this afternoon I'eemed more alert than it had
been fince its head had been taken off.
T ucfday morning — As much alive as before.
About nine it cleaned its wings, and feemed
remarkably brifk. About two, I found it upon
its back ; — endeavoured to place it upon its
legs ; but it could not expand them, though it
■ivas Hill evidently alive. Nine in the evening,
it appears to be quite dead. But, aftonifhing
to refleft on, this fly has lived upwards of three
days without its head ! during which time
feveral of its cotemporarics have died with
their heads on ; fo that it may be a moot point,
whether cutting off its head fhortened or
lengthened its days ! — Its life muft have been
merely vegetative j and the care of its wings
pure inftinft*.
122 ,
ENTHREOp
OF THE
TERNEJ?,
\
• Wedne{2ay morning, the whole dead, except five or
fix. Thurfday morning, iiot one alive !
' August
S
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516
MINUTES.
Aug.
122 .
TtN'THREDO
OF THE
TIknep.
August 25. This morning, to my great '
fadsfacHon, I at laft faw another female depo-
fit; and in. a different direfHon to that in
which I had formerly fcen tiiem. The fly had
her tail directed towards me; — the only di*
redtion I could fee her in. In this point of
view I could not fee her draw her fting, its
edge being towards me ; but faw the end of
the cafe open, and, at firft, Hand expanded 5
but, as the inflrumcnt entered the edge of the
turnep-leaf, (which ftje ftrodc) the flreath be-
gan to clofe ; and, having reached her fulleft
depth, became entirely fhut. Having remain-
ed a v/hile in this pofture, fhe, with great de-
liberation, drew out her inftrument ; and, hav-
ing refliearhed it, flood motionlels for fome
time, as if overcome with fatigue.
She was not lefs than two minutes in the
operation, owing, I believe, to the age and
lliintednefs of the rurnep.
I liiw her withdraw her infcniment very evi-
dently ; but, in the direction of my eye, it
appeared Angle ; whereas, in a Ade view, it
had appeared double.
August 26. ‘ On Thurfday the twcntyArfl,
gathered ten or twelve caterpillars, one or twa
of them remarkably long, namely, fix tenths or
mere.
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VjBi. N O R F O L It.
more. All eat till Sunday the twenty fifth.—
One left off about noon. — Placed it on apiece
of paper, and covered it up with a little dry
mould ; — it crawled out not apparently by de-
fign ; but it feemed to want more mould to
root in : covered it half an inch thick with
moifter mould, taken from the garden (the
'weather moift) : it kept moving under the
mould for fome time, but in lefs than half an
hour the motion was not perceptible.
. This morning the mould ftill undifturbed.
About four o’clock in the afternoon, fearched
for it among the mould w’ith the point of a
needle, and found it flicking to the paper:
blew away the loofe mould, which now was
become dry, and faw the coat perfectly form-
ed, and adhering firmly to the paper.
August 27. On Sunday afternoon, 25th of
Auguft, put three caterpillars to the live tur-
nep in the garden pot j two black, one blue.
—One of the black ones foon mounted the
turnep, but the other feemed neither to have
fight nor inftincl towards it.
Perceiving the blue one near the root of the
turnep, in an upright polhire, I apprehended
it was alfo going to feed ; but on obferving it
more clofcly, I found that inflead of the head
being
122 .
TENTHREDO
OF THE
TURNEF.
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^r8
122 .
TENTHREDO
OF THE
TURNEP.
M I N tf T ET Ayff;
»
bein’g afcending, as I had tliought, towards fli<*
plants its head and part of its body was bu-
ried in the mould ; and, by the motion of the
pare in fight, I found that' it was in the a£t of
burrowi]ig. — In about half an hour it had com-
pleatly buried itfelf j and had clofed up the
mouth of the hole fo judicicaidy,- that no trace
of it remained on the furface of the mould.
Yefterday morning, eight o’clock,* placed
three more blue caterpillars on the mould in
the garden-pot: — they had remained in a
fmall clofe-lliutting tin box until they were «
wet as moifture could make them, and leemed
to be almoft in a ftate of difiblution ; fo that I
was afraid to touch them with the pliers. One
of them, however,- the livelicft, immediately
took to the mould, and burled itfelf in lels
than an hour j the other two appeared fickly ;
but at twelve o’clock they had gdt a confide-
rable way into the ground; About aney their
tails were only to be feen : before four o’clock
in the afternoon they had compleady buried
themfelves.
August a8. Yefterday morning examining
the nature of the female inftrumentsmore atten-
tively, I difeovered fair hanger-like dlvifions-;
not
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iyS2. d R F d L t:.
not only in a fly which I then dific£led for the
piirpofe of further invefligation ; but in the
very fubje<5t from which I wrote the. above
defcription, and which I had preferved ; one
of the three being double.
They are fo extremely thin and tranfparent,
that without a good light and a ftrong mag-
nifier, it is difficult to diftinguifli between a
double and a fingle hlade.
I am now, however, fully fatisfied as to
their number and fituation. By put-
ting the point of a fine needle into the ori-
fice of the pubes, and drawing it towards
the point of the tail, I Icparated the com-
pound inftrument into two extremely fine lan-
ceolated laminar, each of which arc evidently
divifible into two fomewhat hanger-like in-
ftruments, making in the whole four j one of
which is placed on each fide the pubes, and
the other two on its lower margin towards the
tail : — when united, they take the form of a
lancet.
By cutting off the lower part of the abdo-
men jufl: above the ptibcs, and drawing the
part upon the point of a ver)' large needle,
the fling fprings out of the • fiieathi and is
eafily
122 .
TrXTHRECd
OF THE
TURNEl*.
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310
122 .
"TENTIiREDO
OF THt
TURNEP.
MARKETS.
M I N U T E 1 Audi
eafily feparated in die manner abovemen-
tianed.
Tl’.e two fides of the Hieath arc not united
at the back, as I had imagined, but are two
didinft valves, or pieces, until they incorpo-
rate with the coats of the abdomen.
N. B. I have repeatedly difledled the fe-
male inftrument (by drawing the lower part of
the abdomen on to the point of a pair of com-
paffes) for 1 my own fatisfaction, as well as that
of my friends, and have always found them
cxaclly as above deferibed.
123.
AuOust iS. Cawston Sheepshow. — This
fair is held the iail Wednefday in Auguft, for
fheep, Iblely-j principally lambs, brought by
the Well Norfolk breeders, and bought up by
the Eaft Norfolk “ graziers j” in order to pick
among their fummerlies, and their ftubbles,
after harvcil ; to follow their bullocks in w in-
ter ; and to be finiflred, the next fummer, on
clover, or, the enfiiing winter, on turneps.
The Weft Norfolk ewe-flock farmers alfa
bring their crones to this fair j which the Eaft
Norfolk men buy to put to the ram ; and, hav-
ing followed the bullocks and fatted their
lambs.
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iySi, K 5 R F O L ki
*■ • * .
lambsi are themfclvcs finilhed for “ harwft
beef.” Todays there were, alfo, fcvcral pens
ttf fhccrling-wedders, brought by the 'Weft-
Norfolk farmers, who keep what arc called
wedder flocks (that isi buy wedder lambs one
year, and fell them as fheerijngs the next), to
be bought by the eaftern or weftern farmers, to
finifh with turneps, the enfuing winter : alfo
confide rable quantities of ftock-ewes, two and
three fheet j brought by thofe who are over-
ftocked, or are throwing up their ewe flock*
and bought by thofe who are increafing, or
^ fetring” a ew*e flock.
Sheep of all forts were very dear ; nearly dou»
ble the prices they were laft year, at this fair.
Lafl: year, gOdd lambs were bought for five
(hillings and fixpence, or fix (hillings a head :
this year, ten to twelve pounds a fcore was
the current price. Mn Durfgate, who is now*
iirtce Mr. Mallet’s death, efteemed the richelt
farmer in the county (having, it is faid, made
thirty thoufand pounds by farming), was bade
twelve (hillings a piece for his whole pen (about
three or four hundred) : but he refufed the
ofFeti His and Mn Martin’s (alfo a capital
Weft Norfolk farmer) were the ‘‘top of the
fair i” and they both of them a(ked four-
VoL. II. Y tcert
sal
123.
cawston
SHSEPSHOW.
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MINUTES.
AuOi
3 «
I2j.
CAWSTON
SHEErSHOW.
teen pounds. Seven and eight fhillings were
aflced for the diminutive “ heath lambs
(from tJae Brandon fide of the county), not
much larger than rabbits. Laft year they were
fold at three, or three and a half, — four the
outfide price. Nckwithftanding, however, the
high prices this year, a principal part of the
lambs were fold.
There are feveral reafons for the high price
of Norfolk lambs, this yeart the low price
which they have borne, for fortie years back,
has grcady reduced the fize and number of*
ewe flocks; another, there being no market
for long wool, while Norfolk wool bears a
high price, the LinColnlhirc farmers are get*
ting into the Ihort-wooled breed of flieep ;
and have, it is faid, bought up confiderable
numbers of Norfolk lambs, dnd frock ewes,
this fummer : and another reafon, the firft
fowing of turneps having been cut off by the
caterpillar, the fecond fowing will produce
better food for flieep than for bullocks.
Stock ewes were fold from twelve to fifteen
fhillings a head ; fheerling wedders fourteen
or fifteen fhillings ; and even a parcel of
crones were fold fo high as twelve fhillings,
but they were fingularly good ones ; in gene-
ral.
Digitized by Google
1
1782.
NORFOLK.
323
tal, about feven to nine pounds a fcore { lafl:
year they were bought for four to five
pounds.
Sheerling wedders were the cheapeft, and
lambs the deareft ftock. How a farmer could
bid twelve (hillings for lambs, when he might
have bought wedders, of almoft twice the fize,
for fourteen (hillings, is fomewhat remark-
able ♦.
This is entirely a fair of bufinefs : fcarcely
a woman or a townfman to be feen in it. Ma-
ny of the firft farmers in Norfolk were there
today; this being, I believe, the greateft
" (heep-(how” in the county.
124.
August JO. On Sunday the 4th infiant
put one black and one blue caterpillar into a
box with a turnep leaf : the black one died ;
the blue one laid itfelf up in a fold of the
leaf, which it fixed to the bottom of the box.
Lift Sunday, the 25th, I fancied I could lee
the antenna: of the fly playing at one end .of
the chryfalis; and not being able to fee it af-
•
• My reafons for giving the minutia: of the bufinefs of
fairs appear atthe clofeof the article Markets, VoLI.
Y 2 terwards.
123.
CAWSTOV
SHEEPSHOW.
TENTHREDO
OF THE
TURNEP.
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3*4
MINUTES*
Avo,
124.
TENTHREDO
OF THE
TURNEP.
tcrwards, or to difcovcr any progrefs which
was made, I began to fear that the leaf was
too tough for the fly to dilengage itfelf : I
therefore, yefterday morning, wetted it with
dew, and fet it in the fun j but in the evening,
perceiving no appearance of life, I cut the
chryfalis from the box, and found the animal
perfectly alive ; not in the ftate of a fly, but
to all appearance in the very ftate in which it
laid itfelf up. The part of the leaf which
lay between its body and the bottom of the
box was converted into a fine tranfparent la-
mina, and fo faft glued to the box that I was
obliged to feparate them with the edge of a
knife j or rather, to cut off the chryfalis coat
clofe to the box (with which the chrylalinc
matter feems to be incorporated), making a
hole in the bottom of the coat. Replaced it
as nearly as I could in the pofition I had taken
it from.
This morning, I find, it has got its tail out
of the coat, and has given me a full oppor-
tunity of examining it. It is ftill the fame
blue caterpillar with a black ftreak down its
back ; appears quite healthy •, and indeed re-
markably plump and fleek. I am afraid,
however, that by laying open the cell prema-
turely.
Digitized by Google
ijSju NORFOLK. ^ 3*5
tiirely, I have caufed an abortion : it is neverr 1 24.
thelefs a fatisfadlion to know the exaft ftate in tenthredo
which they appear after having been laid up °[jrnep.
near a month.
August 3 1. On Thurfday the 29th, pro-
cured a frefli parcel of flics. Ycfterday, put
^ group of young turnep plants into a garden
pot. Today, put the flies under the glafs-
receiver.
Being nearly an eqtial number of males and
females, and having been Ihut up in a dark
box for two days, they began, on being placed
in a hottifli fun, to copulate with a degree of
lafcivioulhels 1 had not before oblervcd. The
males not only remained longer in the aft
(from one to two minutes), but neglefting to
drels themfclvcs, in the manner 1 h^ before
noticed, flew from embrace to embrace, with
very litdc intcrmilTion, Three or four couple
were generally engaged atonce,and the females
which did not happen to be in the aft were
venting their fiiry on their more fortunate fif-^
terhood ; half a dozen of them> fome double
fome Angle, being frequently engaged at oncq '
in battle-royal. Their furor lafted a,bout an
hour.
I nqw put three of the females upon the
T 3 young
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MINUTES.
Avo.
32^
124.
TSNTHREDO
OF THE
TURJJEP,
young turncp plants, and foon found my cx-
peftation gratified in the fulleft extent ; for
the plants being fucculcnt and tender (the
rough leaves about an Inch in diameter, and
the feedling- leaves ftill remaining), they imme-
diately began to depofit their eggs. I had put
the glafs over them, left they fliould fly away ;
but this was unneceflTary : I therefore took it
off, and made my obfervations without re-
ftraint. The leaves were thin and tranfparentj
the fun ftione full upon them ; and the flies
were fo tame that I could ohferve the opera-
tion in any point of view I pleafed : even
touching them gently while in the adl did not
difturb them. I faw not left than twelve or
fifteen depofits; and Mr. Robert Bartram
calling upon bufineft, while I was obferving
them, alfo law three or four.
I put them upon the plants between nine
and ten o’clock in the morning j and leaving
them between ten and eleven, did not return
until paft one, when I found them ftill bufy
in the a<ft of depofiting. My refpeded and
fenfible friend, Mr, Parkinfon, calling at that
time, obferv^d two or three operations. They
foon afterwards, however, began to droop, and
entirely left the plants.
} liave now no longer any doubt as to the
operation.
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1782.
NORFOLK.
3»7
operation. Having tried the texture of the
leaf, and its fitnefs for her purpofe (by piercing
it repeatedly with the point of her inftrument),
and having chofen fome convenient part on ita
edge (the choice of which feems frequently to
puzzle her), the female adjufts herfelf for the
operation, by placing one, two, or three of her
feet on the upper, and the reft on the under,
^idc of the leaf j but always clafping it with
her hindmoft legs, without which Ihe cannot,
with any degree of conveniency, perform the
aft.— Having taken her Hand, Ihe begins, to
feel for the middle of the edge of the leaf,
which Ihe finds by the help of her Iheath,
placing one of its valves on one fide, and the
other on the oppofite fide, by which means
the point of her inftrument eafily hits the mid-
dle way. She then fplits the edge of the leaf,
and having made a lhallow fifiure about twice
the breadth of her inftrument, ftie begins to
infinuate this ^downwards, into the margin of
the leaf ; not in a line perpendicular to the
edge, but obliquely backward; feldom making
an angle of more than 45® with the line of
the edge, and frequently of lefs than 20®,
running it almoft parallel with it. Having got
^he inftrument to near its fiilleft depth, Ihe
Y ^ begins
J24-
TENTHREDO
OF THE
TUI^NEPy
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MINUTES.
TrSTHRJPO
OF THE
TUHNEP.
Auc,
begins to dcfcribc a fegmcnt of a circle, bring-
ing it round with a fweep until it almoft reaches
the margin of the leaf on the oppofite fide of
the orifice j and thus, cleaving the leaf, form^
a purlc-like nidus within it.
This creates a work of confiderable labour,
in executing which flic employs her four in-
ftruments with a (kill and dexterity which is
delightful to look on, but difficult to deferibe,
The two in front flie makes ufe of as hand-
faws j while the two hinder ones are employed
as -fprings to impel them forward, and make
them lay hold of the work. What feems
make the operation go on fmpothly and plca-
fantly to the eye, and with apparent cafe to
the animal, is, the manner in which (he work*
her front inftruments j which are not dmwn
up and puflied down together, but alternately,^
and feparatcly, one of them rifing while the
other is prefled downward i as is evidently feen
by their wrinkles or ferratures j efpecially if
viewed through a delicate tranfparent leaf, heid
between a good glafs and a ftrong light.
The nidus being fermed, the fly lets her
inftruments recede towards its center, where
they rertia’in motionlefs until the time of labour
comes on j which is generally many fcconds,
often
Digitized by Google
NORFOLK,
3*4
often half a minute, after the nidus is finilhed;
but the body having undergone a fpafm-likc
agitation, the orifices of the pubes and the
nidus, which are now intimately conncfted,
become fwelled out with a femi-tranfparent
whitifh matter, which is feen to glide flowly
down between two laminte (feparated and
formed into a funnel-like pipe), until having
got near to their points, it drops from between
fhcm, and falls deliberately to the bottom of
the nidus ^ where it plainly (hews itfelf of a^
oval form. The points of the inftruments be-
ing ftill carried farther backwards, until they
are fafely freed from the ovum, they are care-i
fully and leifurely withdrawn (nearly in the dir
rcftion in which they were infinuated) j fticath-
cd i and the operation compleated.
September i. To make myfelf completely
maftcr of this fubjedt, I put a fly, this morn-
ing, upon fame plants I had obferved
from ycftcrday ; and finding her fo umc tha^
I could place her on any leaf I pleafed, and
even turn it to the light while fhe was in the
adV, I cut off- one of the tendereft leaves, took
it between the finger and thumb, pbced the
fl^ upon it^ anti holding them between the
glais
124.
TENTHRE04
OF THE
TURJiKP, •
Digitized by Google
i
93P
124.
TEKTHREDO
OF THE
TL'RSIEP.
MINUTES. Seft,
glafs and the light, {aw five or fix compleat
depofits in about twenty minutes ; all exa£Uy
in tiie manner above dcfcribed.
If the fly diflike the part of the leaf {he has
begun to work upon, fhe withdraws her infhn-
mcnts, and feeks for a more commodious part.
Sometimes 1 have feen her begin at an angle,
where fhe had not room for a nidus; at others,
the leaf being curled, fhe has found her inftru-
ments getting too near one fide of it ; and again,
J have feen her begin fo near a former nidus that
her inftrument has broke into it : in either of
^he{e cales fh? defifted from going any fartheri.
It is. very obfervable, that fhe refufed entirely
tlie fmooth tender feedling- leaves, for thofe
which are rough and apparently more difficult
to work upon : but inftindb, no doubt, and not
cafe, direfts her in the choice ; for the feed-
ling-leaves are of fhort duration, and would
probably wither before the caterpillar became
perfedled.
Today, looking carefully to fee if I
could perceive any progrel's made in an egg
which I faw depofited, laft Sunday, in the
edge of the live turnep-leaf, and which I then
marked, I obferved, to my great fatisfai^ion,
a young caterpillar feeding on the under-
fid^
Digitized by Google
NORFOLK.
1782.
J3»
fide of the leaf ; and, on examining the edge, J 24.
attentively, found a number of nides ; from tenthredo
three or four of which the animals had obvi- turnep.
oufly efcaped j they being empty, with a hole
on their under fide, proportioned to the fize
of the young animal ; and looking diligently,
Jon the under furface of the other leaves, J
found four more infant caterpillars.
In the afternoon, I difeovered a fixth cater-
pillar, which, I apprehend, had cfcaped in
the courfe of the day. The flies, I find, were
put upon the leaves the twenty-firfl: of Auguft,
and it is probable that fome of the young
caterpillars were perfeded, and left their qi-
dufes yefterdayj fo that they remained ten
days in the egg-ftate.
Their form is that of the full-grown cater-
pillars : — their fize, one tenth of an inch in
length : — their thicknefs in proportion :-.-thcir
eolour, a dirty v/hite j except the head, which
is of a jetty fiiining black,
, They begin to feed on the undef furface of
tjic leaf, as foon, I apprehend, a? they efcape
from their confinement j and fome of them
were, this afternoon, ftout enough to accom,
pliih a perforation.
Being femi-ttanfparent, their food rnay be
plainly feen palling through their bodies;
their
Digitized by Google
124.
TENTHREDO
OF THE
TfRHEP.
MINUTES. Sept.
their vifccra appearing to confift of one ftraight
paflage from the mouth to the anus.
They feem to have a perfect ufe of all their
limbs and faculties ; and cling fo clofe to the
leaf, that it is difficult to ffiakc them off.
September 2, Yefterday, to try whether it
be a univcrVal faculty belonging to flics in
general to live in a Hate of difeapitation, or
■whether it be peculiar to the Tenthredo of
the turnep, I feparated the head of a common
large blue houlfe fly, about a quarter before
two o’clock. It immediately rofe upon its
wLigs, two or three inches high, and falling
upon its hack, fpun round for fome time j
lifted it up by its legs, and letting it fall, it
inade ufe of its wings, and lighted upon its
feet, on which it now flood motionlefs. About
feven it was flill alive. Neglefted to obferve
it later. This morning it is dead.
Thus it feems probable, that all flics have a,
faculty of living fome lengfli of time without
the head ; but that fome flies will furvive
the decapitation much longer than others.
September 2. Today, put a female fly upon
a fucculent leaf of rape {brajfua mpus). She
tried it over and over, both on the fide and
on the edge ; biit would not attempt to infi-
nuatc
Digitized by Google
NORFOLK.
3 ^^
nuate her inftrument ; and flew away from it. 1 24.
Put her immediately upon a young turnep tenthrsd®
leaf : in three minutes flic made a depofit. — turnkp.
Replaced her on the rape-leaf s— fhe appeared
to be difgufted j and would not offer to make a
nidus :-“-but fuffering her to walk on to the tur-
nep leaf again, fhe leemcd much pleafed j and
there being a large perforation, Ihe put one
foot through the hole, and made a depofit j
the firft I had leen made on the margin of
a hole in the leaf. She feemed to Hand auk-
wardly for the operation ; but, neverthclels,
twilled her inftrument in fuch a manner as to
hit the middle of the leaf very accurately.
Saw the fame fly, afterwards, make three
feparate dcpofits in the edge of a fmooth feed-
ling leaf ; but, perhaps, the edges of the rough
leaves were already occupied.
Placed a Caterpillar upon the rape leaf ; but
it immediately walked off put it on again,
and Ihut them up- in a box j it cat very
freely. ,
September 5. The caterpillar lived upon
this leaf until yefterday noon, when the leaf
was beconle dry.
Put it upon the live turnep to pall its hun-
ger ; and then Ihut it up in a box with two
very
Digitized by Google
124.
. TENTHREDO
OF THE
TURKEP.
MINUTES.
very tender leaves of fowthlftle (/embus ole-^
raceus).
This morning untouched, ejtccpt a flight
rafure on each Jeaf; — Returned it to the tur-
nep leaf; — it eat immediately.
September 6. Yefterday, put two leaves
bf garden-mufl:ard and two of garden-crefs
(fmall fallading) into a box with a caterpillar,
covering it up with the crefs leaves, and lay-
ing thofe of the muftard at a diftance. In
the evening it had left the crefs untouched,
and had got upon .the muftard. This morn-
ing found it refting itfelf upon one of the muf-
tard leaves ; but it had not eaten any percep-
tible part of it. Put it on to the live turnep j
it eat a little, but did not quite finilh one per-
foration j it having, I apprehend, almoft done
feeding ; this experiment, therefore, is not
quite decifive.
September 6. This morning, obferving the
ftate of the nidus which I marked the twenty-
fifth of Auguft, I perceived the young cater-
pillar had juft come forth ■, hs tail ftill upon
the nidus. This, therefore, laid in the egg
ftate eleven days.
The nidus appears fmall, comparatively with
the animal; which muft lie coiled up in a very
com-
Digitized by Google
tjgi. N 6 R F O L It.
- compact ftate. The body nearly whit^, and
the head, except the eyes, alfo whitlfh.
September 7. This morning, I find two
of the oldeft of the young caterpillars have
fhed their exuviae j having left them fixed to
the leaf of the turnep. What furprized me
much was, to find them of a deeper black than
they were before they call their firft coat;
which had, within this day or two, become
blackifh ; but tliis fecond coat is almoft a jetty
black.
One of them feemed but juft difengaged
from its flough ; yet was remarkably lively,
and appeared to be feeding j but on touching
the leaf Ibmewhat roughly, it fell to the
ground. This Ibmewhat furprifed me: becaufe,
before they Ihed their Coat, it was almoft im-
poflible to fhake them oft'. Small as it yet is,
however, it had aftivity enough to regain the
plant in lefs than ten minutes.
• They are now fix days old : one of them
three twentieths — the other four twentieths of
an inch long.
September 7. The feafons, during the laft
nine months, have been much behind the fun.
Autumn lafted until the middle of January;
Winter
335
124.
tenthredo
OF THE
TURNiP.
SEASOKS.
Digitized by Google
33®
125.
StASONS.
M i N U t E S. ^ fetPTi
Winter till the beginning of May ; Spring
Until the month of July : and, now^ we are iii
the height of Summer ! 1 have been ftrolling
about the neighbdurhood this morning, and
find the farmers in the throng of Ivheat-Kar-
veft ! They did not begin in general, until
about a week ago.
Stock remained in the ftubbles and paftures
iintil after Old Chriftmas; fome until Fcbrur
flry : indeed the grafs continued growing until
December j and a frclh {hoot was, in fdme
places, obfervable in the middle of Januarjri
Daifies began to appear aboiit Chriftmas }
honcy-fuckles, irt general foliated the firft
week in January j and the hazel catkin, hav-i
ing received no check* began to blow about
the feventh of January ; and, what is extraor-
dinary, continued to blowi in intervals of fine
weather. Until the beginning of April* Until
which time the graffeS, and wheats* were
entirely at a ftahd, by a fucccfTidn of cold*
ftormy* wet weather j bUt without much froft
or fnow.
The uncertainty of fcafons iri this country
will appear by the following regiller of the ad-
vancement of the laft and the three preceding
Iprings.
The
Digitized by Google
NORFOLK.
332
t)tu
The primrofc blowed •
The hazel blowed
The goofeberry foliated
The fallow blowed -
The elder foliated
The wild rofe foliated -
The hawthorn foliated ■
The floe blowed
The nightingale beg. to fing|
The hazel foliated
The birch foliated
The elin foliated
The cuckow began to call
The maple foliated • r
The cowflip blowed • -
The fwallow returned -
The oak foliated
The afh foliated »
The haw blowed
Wheat fliot into car -
Wheat harveft in gen. beg.
T urneps in full blow - -
> 779 *
Surrey.
Feb. 7
Feb. io|
Feb. 201
Feb. 2c|
Mar.
Mar.
Mar. 2o|
Mar. 25
Mar. z8|
Apr,
Apr. 7
JApi
Apr. 7
Apr. I
Apr. 12
[Apr. 2cJ
May 8
Apr. 2o|
Apr. 25
May I
June 1
July 28]
Mar. 25'
1781.
Norfolk.
Mar. 15
1780.
Surrey.
Mar. 9’
Mar. lo'Feb. loMar.
^Norfolk.
[Apr. 10
29
Mar. 2o|
Mar. 28|
Mar. 28
Apr. 1 5
Apr. 17
Mar. 25 Mar.
Mar. 30j ‘ ‘
Mar. a i
r. 10
Apr. 18
Apr. 28
Apr. 24|Apr. 17
Apr. 29[Apr. 21
Apr. 30 Apr. zzj
May lApr. 23
23Apr. 18
May 4May i
May 4',— —
Apr. 23 Apr. iSj
May 20 May 17
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
May
May
May
May
21
Apr.
. . June 4
May 22 May 29 June 10
May 25 May 27
June zijune 15
3 «
1
10
*3
>4
10
12
4
22
June 12
Apr. 20
May 26
June 15
July z
Aug. 29
(May I a
In May, we had loud claps of thunder, with
lightning, and a fuccefllon of rain and tempeft,
throughout the month ! The farmers were
diftrefled> even upon the light lands of Nor-
folk, to get in their barley : many acres, pro-
bably many hundred acres, were fown in the
month of June ! In the wet land countries, it
IS faid, a confiderable lhare of the grounds in-
tended for fpring-corn could not be fown j and
much of that which Was got in rotted in the
ground.
The fummer continued wet (excepting two
Ihort intervals) until the twenty-firfl: of Auguft,
VoL. II, Z when
125.
SEASONS.
Digitized by Google
MINUTES.
S£PT.
. 338
125.
SEASONS.
time of
SOWINU.
■when the weather took up ; and the lafl: ten
days or a fortnight have been extremely fine
and fiimmer-llke : — foggy mornings and hot
parching days : — a finer wheat-harveft never
liappened.
But the barlies are fiill backward, fome of '
tliem quite green, — fcarcely a fwath cut in the
neighbourhood. — Neverthelefs, the crops look
well i eipecially the late-lbwn ones ! a ftriking
proof, tliis, that the farmer, in his time of fow-
Ing, ought to confult the JeaJon rather dian the ’
* O Sober 10. A piece’of barley which fell more par-
ticularly under my notice (fee M. 114.) was fown the
fourth and fifth of June; and was cut the twenty-fixth
and twenty-feventh of September ; the crop not quite
thick enough upon the ground ; but remarkable “ top-
corn !” twentyeight to thirty or thirtytwo grains on a
fpike. And what makes this incident a Hill ftronger evi-
dence in favor of attending to the feafons for the proper
time of fowing — this piece of barley, though fown later
by feveral days than any other piece upon the form, was
(where it had not been chilled by the (landing water) the
fiouieft, bell barley upon it. Had this piece of barley been
fown on the fame days, in an early fpring, it is more than
probable that, inilead of being the befi, it would have
been the w'orll, upon the farm. The lloutnefs of the ftraw,
the length of the ears, and the plumpnefs of the grain
(a fpecimen of which I have preferred) are proofs that
it was f<rwn in J'tafon, the fourth and fifth of June.
For general remarks on this fubjeft, fee Experiment!
etnd Obfer vations on jlgriadturt anti the- Weather, p. 1 71.
126.
Digitized Google
NORFOLK.
339
lj8i.
I 26.
September 7. Laft year, I put a fwarm of
bees into a wooden hive, of a particular con-
ftrudion. They took it remarkably well, and,
in the courfe of the fummer, laid up an ample
ftore. But the mildnefs of the autumn, and tlic
length of the fpring, were fatal to a principal
part of the bees in the country ; and to thefe
'artiong the reft. Ncverthelefs, through inatten-
tion, I let the hive ftand in its place, with tKc
empty comb in it.
Pafling by it on the twenty-fourth of July
(the height of fwarming-time this year !) I
faw feveral bees about the mouth of the hive :
but in the evening they difappeared. Next
morning they returned ; and, at noon, were fol-
lowed by a very large fwarm ; which took pof-
feffion of the hive j and, in a £cw hours, be-
gan throwing out the dead, and clearing their
new habitation ; a work which employed them
that and the eiifuing day.
Perhaps, this was a ftray flight, which had
fettled upon fome neighbouring tree, and the
firft were out-fcouts, fearching for a hollow
tree, or a fiflure in a rock.
Or, perhaps, they came immediately from
fome hive in the neighbourhood. I have been
Z 2 fjncc
126.
BEES,
Digitized by Google
34 °
MINUTES.
Sept;
126.
BEES.
MANURING
(.KASSLAM'.
fince told that this circumftance frequently
happens ; and that it is reckoned unneigh-
bourly, if not unlawful, to let a “ dead flock”
remain upon the (land. A labourer, it feems,
followed one, this year, immediately from his
own to a farmer’s garden in the neighbour-
hood.
Thefe are circumftances in the hiflory of
this petty but pleafing objed of rural econo-
my, which, though they feem to be well un-
derftood, in this part of the kingdom, are not,
I believe, generally known.
127,
September 7. Lall year, I made two ac-
curate experiments on the time of manuring
grafsland. One of them was made the thirtieth
' of Jidy^ prefendy after the hay had been car-
ried off : the other in October . ' ,
The firft was very decifive : the benefit was
■evident; though the whole crop was extremely
good ; at lead two load an acre : but, where
tlie dung had been fct, the grals was lodged,
and the fi-vath obvioufly larger than it was oh
the unmanured parts.
But the benefit arifing from that fet on in
Oclober was by no means obvious ; indeed, on
a clofe
Dipi''r. i by Gi'oijU'
• NORFOLK.
34t
1782.
a clofe infpe6Hon> I could not fte any fliade of
difference j although the crop was in this cafe
very moderate j not a load an acre,
I 28.
September 7. (See M, 62) Another exceed-
ingly fine afh, which flood in the neighbour-
hood of that before mentioned, and which had
alfo been difbarked, entirely round, by deer, was
blown down by the high winds of lafl fpring.
The roots were entirely rotten, and the bot-
tom of the ftem appeared, as it Jay with its
butt on, to be decayed j but the topwood and
the bark of the ftem had a healthy and found
appearance.
Neverthelefs, on cutting it up, the ftem
proves rotten at the heart, for twelve or fifteen
feet up ; and is, at the bottom, a mere flicU.
Therefore, notwithftanding the afh may ap-
pear healthy and flourifhing, after it has been
barked j it is, neverthelefs, decaying in the
moft cffential part ; and ought not, in point of
profit, to be fuffered to ftand *.
• The rottennefs of this tree could not be owing to a
natural decay ; as it had every appearance of a healthy,
growing tree ; and flood in a grove, which probably is
not more than fifty or fixty years ol^ ; and whofe trees,
in general, are now in full vigour.
127.
MANURING
CRASSLANP.
WOOD-
EANPS.
9
Digitized by Google
34 *
MINUTES.
SiPT.
129.
TENTHREDO
OF THE
TURNEP.
129.
September 7. The young caterpillars arc;
partial to the leaf they are bred in. Obferv-
ing one juft excluded froip a leaf which is be-
come old, withered, and yellow, with only
here and there a green fpeck ; I cut oft" the
part on which it was feeding (thinking that a
younger leaf would be more acceptable) and
laid it upon a frefli young plant, in fuch a man-
ner that the animal lay at its eafe between the
Uvo leaves : neverthelefs, it ftill kept feeding
on the old leaf, for many hours : and, when it
left it, did not begin upon the top of the ten-
der leafi but went down to the leaf-ftalk. But
on reflexion, this is in confonance with nature :
the animal had been nouriftied, while in the
nidus, with the juices of the old leaf ; and
after its enlargement, the fame juices, and
thofe of a fmiilar nature, were moft fuitable
to its acquired habit. Inftinft, therefore, led
it to feed upon its fofter plant j and to pre-
fer the rigid to the tender part of the young
leaf.
September 9. The eggs depofited on
Saturday the thirty-firft of Auguft, arc begin-
ning to come forth today ■, which is only the
ninth day from the time of their being de-
pofited : the leaves young, healthy, and fuc-
‘ ‘ ‘ culent :
■ Digitizedtiy Google
1782.
NORFOLK.
3+3
culent : there is, however, only one as yet ex-
cluded (fix o’clock in the evening) and another
which Icems ready to burft forth : — the nidus.
Oft the under fide of the leaf, being fwelled to
the IVretch j and fomewhat on one fide is a large
black fpeck j over which the leaf has a flii-
ning glofly appearance. Cut off the margin of
the leafj and Ihut it up in a box.
September io. This morning it is come
forth, and has eaten a pit in the leaf large
enough to bury itfelf.
Examining the leaves in the garden pot, I
find them fwarming with young caterpillars,
which have been excluded laft night ; fo that
ten days may be taken as a mean continuance
in the egg-flate.
Examining thefe leaves flill further, I per-
ceived one of the animals in the acl of exclu-
fion. — Cut off the part of the leaf it was in,
and faw it crawl out under the glafs. It began
feeding in lefs than two minutes.
Seeing feveral more in, or near, the fame
ftate, cut them off with a pair of feiffars, and
laid tliem on a microfeope Hand, placed in a
warm fun. One, whofe head was already bared,
prefently made its efcape, and aflually fed, or
appeared to feed, while its tail yet remained
in the nidus.
\
Z 4 Havinff
* w*
129.
TENTHREDO
OK THE
TURNEP. ,
Digitized by Google
344
MINUTES.
129.
TENTKREEO
OF THE
IX'KMEF.
Having not yet had an opportunity of fee^
ing any of them in the aft of breaking the
fhell of the nidus, I began to apprehend that
the perforation was made by a Ample folutioij
of the lea^ by means of the glutinous moi-<
fture with which their heads appear to be co-.
vered (and which, no doubt, gives the leaf ita
glofify tranlparency) j for in die two adts of ex-
clufion which I had feen, the head appeared
jiaflive, with its upper part protuberant, and
its mouth within the nidus ; until bringing it5i
mouth and nvo of its foremoft feet without die
orifice, it began to ftniggle, and foon made
its efcape. But, calling my eye on a neigh-
bouring nidus, I faw a faint working within it,
and prefently faw its coat pierced by a tooth,
or fome other appendage of the mouth of the
animal ; which was obvioufly in die aft of
eating its way out.
Having made a perforation large enough for
its purpofe, it placed its head in the pofitioq
above deferibed, as if to reft itfelf after the
fatigue it had undergone in making the door-
way. In a few minutes it began to ftruggle,
and having got its fore legs without the ori-
fice, crept out with cafe.
I afterwards obferved two more perform die
fame operation, in the fame manner, and mi-
nuted
Digitized by Google
NORFOLK.
3+1
i?8a,
nuted them both:— one of them- was fifteen
and the other twenty minutes, from the firft
vifible aft to the final exclufion, namely, about
ten minutes in making the perforation, and
the reft of the time in refting, and ip the la-
jpour of extricating themfelves.
I am clearly of opinion, neverthelefs, tliat
the moifture, abovementioned, aflifts them
tnaterially in the operation, by refolving the
coat of the nidus into a jelly-like matter, foft
and inviting to the infant tooth j for one
which, on being placed in a hot fun, began to
make the perforation before the coat had fuffi-
ciently received its femi-diflblution j that is»
before the livid patch was large enough ; could
pot extricate itfelf, but ftuck with its forehead
out ; while its tentacula, and fore legs, were
bound in by a part of the coat, ftill green and
figid i and it died in this ftate.
130.
Sept. ix. The Midjummer Jhoot of the
oak, this year, has been more obvious than I
recoUeft to have feen it. It has, however, I ap-
prehend, been made much later than ufual : it
was not obvioufly general until the beginning
of Auguft. Many oaks have Ihot upwards of
a foot in length.
The
129,
TENTHRKD(|
OF The
TURNEP,
wooo,
LANDS,
by Google
346
MINUTE S.
Sept.
130. The Midfummer fhoot and the Midfum-
MjnsLMMER mer barking time have always ftaggered my
5 £iuor, opinion relative to a uniform motion of the
fap, on Dr. Hales’ principles : nor have they,
I believe, ever been fairly accounted for ; but
remain an unanfwered argument in favor of a
circulation of the fap *.
Being ftruck with this year’s ample Ihoot,
I was led into a train of reflexion upon this
interefting fubject.
The fpring run of the bark and the fpring
fhoot are the acknowledged confequences of
the rife of the fap ; but how fimilar effefts
fliould take place about Midfummer, when
an extraordinary rife of fap cannot eafily be
proved, may feem difficult to explain.
If, however, we conceive a regularly af-
cending ftream to commence on the approach
of fpring, and to continue • rifing, uniformly,
until the wane of autumn ; and trace, with
tlofe attention, the effefts which mull necef-
farily be p.'-oduced, upon the tree, by fuch a
* uniform rife of fap; we ffiall find them to be
exadlly thofc which annually occur in nature :
namely, a fpring run of tlie bark, fucceeded
ty a fpring fiioot, ^yith leaves, &c. a Mid-
fummer run, with a fuceeding fhoot, &c.
• The arfeyial fap, if it may be fo f,ermed, which flow}
immediatciy from the root, is here to be underllood.
and,
Digitized by Google
t
T-/82. NORFOLK.
ajidj perhaps, what every year occurs’ in a
greater or fmaller degree, a Michaelmas run
of the bark, with’ a Michaelmas flioot.
This procefs of nature might be illuftrated
in the following manner.
Suppofe four elaftic vefTels to be conneftcd
in regular feries, with narrow communications
between them ; each channel of communica-
tion being furniflied with an elaftic valve, re-
quiring a degree of force to open it : but, be-
ing overcome by fuperior prefture, its elafti-
city v/eakcning, until entirely fpent.
Suppofe this feries of elaftic vellcls ftretched
fiat upon a table (reprefenting the tree), and
covered with a board (reprefenting its bark).
This would refemble the winter ftate of the
tree, when the bark and the wood are in their
neareft degree of contaft.
Suppofe further, a regular ftream of 'water
to be injected into the firft veflel. As the water
continued to flow, the veflel would fwell ; the
board be lifted by flow degrees from the table ;
and in this ftate reprefent, fufficiently, the
Jfring run of the bark.
The vcflTel being filled to the ftretch, the
firft valve would begin to yield ■, the buds of
the tree would burft, the leaves expand, and
the Jpring jhoot be protruded.
But
I
130.
AnOSUMMIR,
SHOOT. ,,
Digitized by Google |
34 *
MINUTES,
5ei*T,
130.
MrosiTMMER
JHOOIV
pCiLDiircs.
But the Ipring fhoot being compleatcdj
every twig and every leaf having received its
limited fize j and the ftream ftill continuing to
flow ; a Jecond Jurcharge naturally takes place j
and the bark becomes, a jecend time^ feparated
from the tree.
The ftream ftill flowing, the fecond valve .
is opened ; and a fecond, called die Midjummer
jlmty neceflarily follows.
The autumn proving fine, and the current
of lap ftiU continuing to rife, the fecond fhoot
arrives at matuiky, and a third overflow of Jap
takes place ; the third valve is burft open, and
a third or Michaelmas Jhcot is the conl'equence.
But winter fetting in, the fupply of lap is
ftopt ; and diat which has already beep raifed,
being fpent on the younger Ihoots, carried off
by perfpiraticn, or having fallen back again to
the root, the bark clofes upon the wood, an4
the tree returns again to its winter ftate,
131 -
September 21 . Hog ciflirnsj in diis coun-
try, are principally built with bricks and ter-
race. But this is expenfive j yet a hog ciftern
is among the firft conveniencies of a farm-
houfe. Wooden veffels arc incommodious, and
leaden ones dangerous.
This
Digitized by Google
* 782 . NORFOLK.
This fummer, a receptacle for water in i
brick yard being wanted, I had one built of
bricks, laid in clay, and furrounded with a coat
of the fame material ; it holds water perfeftly;
Afterwards, I built a hog ciftern in the fame
manner. This morning, on enquiry, I find
that not only the tenant, but his wife and her
maids, arc fully fadsfied with it.
It was built in this jnanner — A pit five feet
and a half long, by four feet wide, and five feet
deep, was funk in the place moft convenient to
the dairy, kitchen, and hog- yard jointly.
The bottom of the pit was bedded with
feme extraordinarily fine clay, fetched from
the fea-coafl for this purpofe j moillened and
rammed down ; and its furface fmoothed over
with a trowel. On this flooring were laid
three courfes of bricks, in clay-mortar (the
bed of the clay being taken for this purpofe),
and in fuch a manner, that the joints of one
courfe fell in the middle of the bricks of the
coiirfe below j the whole being laid long-
ways i not crofled, in the ufual manner.
The fides were carried up half a brick thick
(that is, a brick in width) with mortar of fine
clay ; and, in a vacancy left between the brick
work and the fidcs of the pit, moift clay was
firmly
S4f
* 3 *-
Digitized by Google
(350
MINUTE S.
Se?t.
1 31. firmly rammed : fo as to unite as much as
cisrtRNS* poflible the bricks, the clay, and the fides of
the pit into one folid mafs ; carrying the brick
and clay work up together ; and beating back
fuch bricks, into the clay, as were forced for-
ward by ramming.
, , The cillern, w'hen brought up level with the
furface of the ground, meafured three feet
long, two and a half feet wide, and three and
a half feet deep ; confequently the furrounding
feam of clay is not more than four inches
thick j and the ftratum at the bottom is about
the fame thicknefs.
Above-ground, a nine-inch W’all was railed
on each fide, two feet high, with a gable car-
ried up at one end ; and, on thefe, a fpan or
pitched roof was fet, and covered with tyles ;
tiie other end being left entirely open as a
door-way.
This is an admirable covering for a cillern^
A (wfiether it lie horizontally or Hoping)
. being continually expofed to the weather, lets
in rain-water ; foon rots; and, from the marl-
. ner in wliidi it hangs, is liable every day to
be fplir, and its hinges forced off, by the heed-
kffnefs of fervants ; wliereas a jdec;',' having
only a gentle fall, and being abvays under co-
ver, will iall: a number of years.
132.
Digitized by Google
1782. NORFOLK.
132.
Septemder 21. Yefterday evening, be-
tween five and fix o’clock, faw a young cater-
pillar flip its flough. What ftnick me mod:,
•was its head being of a filvery white ; except
its eyes (very fmall), which are black, as was
the body. W atched the head to fee it change
its colour. In about half an hour, it began
obvioufly to change to a lead-colour : at eight
o’clock (two hours and a half) it was become
quite dark ; this morning it is entirely
black.
September 22. — One of the caterpillars
(full feven tenths of an inch long) excluded
the firft of September (the only one living)
took ground today ; ex-a<fily three weeks from
the firft exclufion (two hours and a half in
burrowing).
It filed its coat about the feventh, and an-
other time, laft Friday, the tv’cntieth j and
probably another intermediate time, about the
thirteenth : for thofe excluded the ninth flied
theirs about the fifteenth, and are now flied-
ding them a fecond time : — four flipped yef-
terday j three today : — one of them I law
flip its flough : — the head white as above
mentioned.
Sep-
351
132.
TEKTHREDO
OF THE
TURNER.
Digitized by Google
M I N U t £ 2 .
SEpf*
132.
TENTHREDO
OF THE
TURNEP.
September 28; Thofe excluded the ninth
began to fiied their lafl coat lafl: night (five
filed), which is only nineteen days from theii*
exclufion. But they have been Ihut up in a
warm box, and regularly fed.
Thefe, I am pofitive, have died their coats
three times, at about fix days diftance.
Put .them upon a pot of mould r-^they
would not take it, nor would they eat j but
lecmcd defirous of being rcleafed from their
confinement. I therefore gave them their
liberty. They were remarkably adtive ; crawl-
ing much fafter now than at any preceding
period of the caterpillar-ftatc. Hitherto their
bufinels of life has been eating ; now, they
are in a buftle to provide tliemfelves conve-
nient lodging-places.
October 16. — To try whether rain, or
other water, coming in contact with the chry-
faline coat, injures the animal j or, whether
the coat is water-proof i I fuffered a caterpillar
to burrow in a garden pot, and let it remain
about thirtyfix hours undifturbed. I then wa-
tered the furface plentifully, almoft covering
it with a fiieet of water, and put a quan-
tity into the faiicer on which it flood. This
I have
Orgilizi ;: ! , Googli
. 353
l;8i. NORFOLK.
1 have feveral times repeated; fo that if the
coat be not water-proof, it muft in this time be
injured, and the animal drowned.
Searched for it this morning (Mr. Parkinfon
prelcnt) ; found it intire, and the coat as firm
and as tough as parchment, notwithllandingthe
mould round it was in a ftate of mortar. Put
it into a glals of water to wafli off the loofe
mould ; the chryfaline coat now Ihewed itfelf
of a delicate fllky texture, and of a cylindri-
cal form i rounded at both ends, which were
perfectly clofed and exadlly alike. — With Ibme
difficulty (occafioned by its toughnefs and
tightnefs) I made a breach at one end; and
found the animal perfefUy alive, perfectly dry,
and of a healthy appearance.
The feafon being now far fpent, I defpair of
feeing any of the chryfales come to the fly-ftate
this autumn : their prefent ftate is this :
That laid up in the fold of a tutncp-leaf thtf
fourth of Auguft, ftill retains its plumpnefs
and curvature ; and ftill, I apprehend, retains
its chryfalis life.
Of the fix laid up the fifteenth of Auguft
among mould, four now remain fixed to the
bottom of the box.— On fepararing one of
them, I find the coat very tender and fomewhat
Vol.il ^A a broken.
132.
TENTHREDO
OF
THE TURNBF
Digitized by Google
3 ^
■ 13 ^’
iTENTHREDO
OF
THETURNEP
M 1 N u T E 5. Ocr,
broken, with Only the Ikiri of the artirtial re-
maining; not entire, but divided longitudi-
nally; one of the divifions, or fides, being
Very entire, the other broken. ^Has
the fly efcaped from this unitotieed (for during
the firft two or three weeks the box was fre-
qtiently left open to receive the rays of the
fun) ; or has fome other animal entered the cOat,
and devoured the entrails of the caterpillar ?
*—-Lcofening another, I find it very perfedf,
containing a plump, fleek, healthy-looking
chryfaKs.-“Separating a third, it proves a fine
large coat, curioufly lined on the infide, with
a fmooth filvery lamina; but without any re-
mains whatever of the animal, which has ob-
vioufly efcaped through a perforation at one
end of the coat. — Did it efcape in the
caterpillar or the fly ftate ? I am of opinion
it made its efcape prefently after it had formed
its coat, and was that which I found under the
turnep-lcaf (fee back) ; for there were only
fix. caterpillars put into the box, and there have
been fix coats formed : it is, therefore, pro-
bable, that each formed its relpeftive coat,
and tliat two of them made their efcape. The
other coat, feemingly perfccf, and, I appre-
hend, containing a chrylalis, ftill remains fixed
to the bottom.
That
Digitized by Googl
1781 . K O R F 6 L k;
That formed the twenty- fifth of Auguft,
With mould upon a flip of paper, ftill remains
a perfeft coat, adhering clofely to the paper.
Thofe which burrowed in the garden-pot:
While warm weather continued, the pot was
placed in the fun ; it has fince flood near the
fire j fo as to receive a confiderable degree of
Warmth j but nothing, I believe, has yet come
forth. Two or three of them being marked*
I have fearched for them, by digging up the
earth carefully, and breaking the lumps be-*
tween the fingers : this I have found a nice
and difficult bufinefs, and the firfl I unfortu-
nately crufhed benveen my fingers.
On feparating and adjufting the parts, how-
ever, I can clearly perceive the head with
its antennte folded back* its palpi, and
legs, perfeflly formed j its fcutuli (or black
Ihields upon the Ihoulders) of their full fize
and proper colour j as is the head j but the
antennae and legs and palpi are flail white, and
appear limber, and not yet hardened. I can-
not, however, find any traces of wings ; there
are fome fragments of a hardifh fubftance;
green within, and brown without j which may
be the wings flnck to the flough of the cater-
pillar j but I am not certaini
A a 2 Being
355
132.
TENTHREDO
OF
THE TURNED
Digitized by Googl
356
132.
TENTHREDO
OF
THETURNEP
)
MINUTES. Ocr.
Being willing to facrifice another to my
curiofity, I have fearched for and found an-
other coat; but only one-half of the flough of
the caterpillar remains ; divided longitudinally
as before.
The garden-pot now contains — one bur-
rowed on Sunday twenty-fifth of Auguft ;
one on Monday twenty-fixth of Auguft ; and
three or four which have burrowed fince that
time, not minuted. I now put the pot by, with .
the glafs over it to prevent cfcapes *.
From thefc circumftances, from the frelh
flight of flics which appear to -fpring up in
the middle of fummer, as well as from the
aficitions of more than one farmer, who fay,
that having fhut the caterpillars up in boxes
they came to flies (the particulars I have not
learned) ; it appears to me more than probable,
that the early broods pafs through the feveral
changes, and arrive at the fly-ftate, in tlic
courfe of the fummer: while, from the
ftate in which feveral of the chryfales above-,
noticed ftill remain, as well as from the Mat-
tered flights of flies which every year are ob-
ferved to make their appearance in the fpring,
• Leaving the country a Ihort time aftervk-ards. Ihad
Rot stB opportunity of noticing the event.
it
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NORFOLK.
357
1782.
k appears to me equally probable that the
latter broods lie in the chryfalis ftate through
the winter ; and that fuch as efcape deftruc-
tion from birds, infefts, and the uncertainty
of fcafons in this climate, rife in the fly-ftatc
die enfuiiiglpring. Further, it feems probable,
that in the more northern climates, where the
fummer is fliort, the entire brood lie in the
chryfalis-ftate through winter; which being
rigid, and the fpring ufually fetting in ab-
ruptly, the chryfales are locked up free from
injury, and the flies at once rife upon the
wing } forming thofe cloud-like flights, which,
when the wind happens to blow a fuffleient
length of time invariably from the north-eaft,
have been feen to arrive, or which may with
every degree of probability be brought, ^ upon
the eaftern coaft of this illand.
It is, I believe, known that Tenthredos in
general are gregarious ; hanging together in
flights : from repeated obfervadons I know
that the fpecies under confideration will live
from five to ten days without food.-=^Thc
diftance from the fouthern cape of Norway
to the coaft of Norfolk is not five hundred
milts. — It has been calculated that a balloon
has been carried, l>y the wind alone, at the rate,
A a^ of
I32'-
.TENTHREDO
OF
THETURNEP
Digitized by Coogle
MINUTES.’
S58
•132.
'tENTHREIXJ
OF
THE TURNIP
OcTt
of fifty miles an hour ; confequently, a flight
of infects, even fuppofing them to make no
ufe of their wings to impel them forward,
might be brought from Norway to this coaft
in ten hours. In one week they might, pro-
vided their wings coidd bear them, be brought
to us from the moft eaftern confines of the
lluinan empire.
1 If* no exotic flights arrive, the few which
lurvive the winter, here, cfcape in a^manner
unnoticed, and the plants receive no percep-
tible injury : but, when to thefe the foreign
•fwarms -arc added, their progeny become too
powcrfol”for the' plants ; and the devaftatiop
‘becomes’’ confpicuous and alarming ; produ-
'cing that dreadful calamity to this country,
A CANKIR YEAR
• Were an apology for the length of this and the fore-
going Minutes on this fubjeft tp be required, I Ihoul^
make the following : Finding, on the perufal of thefe Mi-,
Dutes, that I was poffeffed of a minutial detail of fafts,
relative to the hillory of an infefl, which has been im-
perfeAly attended to by naturalifts j but which is of the
greateft importance tp the agriculture of this country ;
, more elpecially of the Diftridl w hofe pradtice I wifti tq
deferibe with accuracy and minutenefs ; I did not hefitatq
• in my determination to publilh them entire. Idetermined
tvith greater rcadinefs as 1 have found, fince thofe obfer-
yations were made, that the deftruftion caufed by th4
alarming infeft, bas^ in feme well-cultivated dillrifls,
thrown
Digitized by Google
NORFOLK.
359
1782.
133* • —
October 16. (See Min. 13.) To endea-
vour to afcertain the truth of this opinion,
I had a fmall bufh of the berbery plant ,fet, in
February or March laft, in the middle of a
large piece of wheat, ’
I neglefted to make any obfervations upon
it until a little before harveft j when a nejgli-.
bour (Mr. John Baker, of South-Reps) came^
to tell me of the effeft it ha'd produced. ...
The wheat was then changing, and the reft
of the piece (about twenty acres) had acquired
a confiderable degree of .whitenefs^
wheat)V while about the berbery bufli there
appeared a long but fomewhat oval-fhaped,
ftripe, pf a dark livid colour, obvious to a
perfon riding Qn the road, at a confiderable
diftance.
The part affefted refembled the tail of a
comet, the bplb itfelf reprefenting the nu-
thrown a damp upon the cultivation of a valuable objeS
of rural economy, which will not readily be removed.
And I flatter myfelf that the expedients, here regillered,
for checking or removing the evil, will not be lefs iifcful
to the agricultor, than a fedulous adduftion of f.uSs, re-
lative to the migration and propagationofinfe6ls,will be
jjnerelllng to the admirers of the economy of nature.
* 33 -
W'HEAT. *
Digitized by Google
360
MINUTES.
Oct.
133 -
fEJlBERy
PLA^'T.
clcus ; on one fide of which the fenfible effeft
reached about twelve yards j but on the other,
not more than two yards ; the tail pointing
towards the fouth-weft: fo that probably the
cffedt took place during a north-eaft wind.
At harveft, the ears near the bufh flood
ercd, handling foft and chaffy; the grains
flender, fhrivelled, and light,— As the diftance
from the bqfh increafed, tlie effed: was lefs
difcernible, until it vanilhed imperceptibly.
The reft of the piece was a tolerable crop j
and the ftraw clean, except on a part which
was lodged j where the Jlrn':o nearly refembled
that round the berbery ; but the grain on that
part, though lodged, was much heayier than
it was on this, where the crop flood erccl.
The grain of the crop, in general, was
thin-bodied ; nevertheltfs, ten grains, chofen
impartially out of the ordinary corn of the
piece, took twenty-four of the berberied grains,
chofcn equally impartially to baknce it ! fq
that, fuppofing the crop in general to be worth
five pounds an acre, the part injured by the
berbery would barely be worth forty fliil-
lings i the quality, as well as the quantity, be-
ing much inferior,
To try whether the vegetating faculty of
fhcfe grains was dcflroyed or not by the
damage
Digitized by Google
1782 . NORFOLK.
damage the farinaceom part of them had re-
ceivcdi I fowedjWcdnefday fourth of Septem-
ber, three grains of the heavy, and as many of
the light, in a garden-pot. Thurfday nine-
teenth of September, one of the light grains
came up ; but none of the other until Thurf-
day the twcnty-fixth, when one of the heavy
ones made its appearance : and on Tuefday fe-
cond of Oftober, another of the heavy grains
broke ground. ,
To-day, turned the mould out of the pot:
found the other heavy grain, and one of the
light ones both of them Iprouted.
It is, therefore, proved that, noovithftand-
ing the injury done to the fitrinaceous part of
thefe grains, their vegetative yiitue is not whc/l^
deftroyed.
134-
October 26. Bullock-fair of St. Faith’s.
Bullocks, this year, have been dearer than
they were even laft year (fee Mm. 27.). The
lirft day of this fair (the 17th inftant), ten
fo twelve pounds a head vras alked for bul-
locks j but good ones have fince been bought
for feven to nme pounds. Bullocks which will
fat to fifty ftone, may now be bought for feven
This
3<h
133-
berbery
PLANT.
MARKETS.
Digitized by Google
MINUTES.
Oct.
36a
134*
FAIR. OK
Si'. FAITH’S.
7IWCES.
This morning, I faw ten two-year-old Ifle-r
of-Skys, drawn out of a lot of two hundred,
at two guineas and a half a-!read. Very fmall ;
not larger than the ordinary yearling-calves of
jhc largea’ breeds of cattle.
. 135 -
October a3. This morning, I obfej-ved
{bme workmen fencing a rickyard with furze
faggots, alone a fpecies of fence I have not
rnet with before. , " .
' ■ In a trench about eighteen inches wide, and
fix inches deep, they fet the faggots, as clofc
as poHlble, upon their ends ,'-fpreading the bot 7
toms ; and covering the Ikirts with the loofc
mould dusr'out of the trench ; alfo with that
of a narrow trench (a fpade’s width), dug for
the purpofe, on each fide j treading; the mould
firm to the roots of the faggots j which being
fufficicntly loaded, the trenchlets were fhovel-
cd and the banks fmoothed.
One of the labourers fays, he has fet a furze.?
fence in tliis manner acrofs Grelham field (an
expofed fituation) which has ftood one or two
w'inters.
Calculate the expence thus: — One hundred
and twenty faggots let about eight rods ; ex-
pence
Jigitized by Google
n%2. NORFOLK.
pence of cutting two fhillings and fixpence,
or about fourpence a rod. Expence of fet-
ting about threepence a rod more : together
fcvenpence a rod.
The value of the furze, after having ftood
a year, will be about fix fliillings a hundred j
or ninepence a rod.
Furze faggots, thus placed, ane a fence
^gainft every kind of ftock even hogs and
hares j and, in a country over-flocked with the
latter, might frequently be ufed as a temporary,
^ncc with great advantage,
. 136*
October 31. Yeflerday, procured the fol-
lowing particulars of the expences upon Nor-
wich marl, brought round by Yarmouth, and
landed at die ftaiths, at Wood-Baftwick.
Coft of a chaldron {weighing a chaldron of
coals) at Thorp, and putting it on board the
lighters eightpence ; lighterage to Wood-Baft-
wick, round by Yarmouth, fifty miles, fix-
teenpence j together, two fhillings a chaldron.
Two chaldrons make a middling cart-load ;
two chaldrons and a half a good load : feven
or eight large loads are efteemed fufficient for
an acre ; the cxpcnce upon which Hands tinis :
The
363
? 35 *
FURZE-FAG.
POT FENCE,
marlinq.
Digitized by Google
3^4
MINUTES.
Oct.
136.
MAKUNQ.
i WATER
CARRIAGE.
The marl, (fiippofc eighteen chal- j. d.
drons) at two {hillings - - - i 16 o
Filling it at the ftaith ; carting to
a medium dillancc, and ipreading
about, fifteenpence a load, -126
Txpcnce per acre, - - ^.2 18 6
With the marl ought to be, and frequently
is, laid on a quantity of Yarmouth muck,
equal, in expence, to the marl.
After this drefTing, for about ten years, the
foil (a fandy loam, but ftronger and deeper
than the Norfolk foil in general) throws out
very great crops } and, with the ufual tcafhe
and ordinary dungings, will feel the effeit of
the marl for ten years longer.
Before the ufc of marl (which has not been
brought by water, I apprehend, above ten or
fifteen years) the farmers could grow no tur-
neps j the land letting for ten or twelve (hil-
lings an acre : now the turneps upon it are re-
markably fine ; and the land lets at full twenty
{hillings an acre : a rent the occupiers could
not pay, were it not for marl.
The diftance between W ood-Balbvick and
die marlpits at Thorp next Norwich, is not,
by
Digitized by Google
1782. NO ft F O L K.
by land, more than fix or feven miles j yeC
tire farmers find it cheaper to fetch their marl
fifty miles by water, ^ and then carry it, per-
haps, half a mile from the ftaith to the
ground, than fetch it thefe fix or feven miles
by land. What an advantage, in fame cajesy
is water carriage to a farmer > arid, confe-
quently, to an eftate.
137-
October 31. I have lately obtained the
following particulars relpedting the recent
inclofure at Felbrigg.
Some feven or eight years ago, Mr.Wynd-
ham, who is Lord of the Manor, was alfo (in
effed) the foie proprietor of this parifh ; ex-
cepting one fmall farm, of feventy pounds a
year, belonging to a young man, a yeoman,
juft come of age.
An extenfive heathy wafte, and fbme com-
mon-field lands, were defirable objeds of in-
clofures : conftquently, the poflefllon of this
young man’s eftate became an objed of im-
portance to Mr. Wyndham.
Steps were accordingly taken * towards ob-
taining the defired pofleflion: not, however, by
* Through the mediation of Mr. Kent; whofe ability
as an eftate agent, is defervedly applauded in this Diftrift.
/ threats
36s
136.
WATER
CARRIAGE.
INCLOSURW
Digitized by Google
M I N if t E
Ocr.-
36^
i 2 jr. threats and fubterfuges, too commonly but very*
JNCLOSURES impoliticly made iiffe of upon fuch occafions ;
but by open and liberal propofals to the
young man, the joint proprietor; who wasr
made fully acquainted with the intention ; and
frankly told, that nothing could be done with-
out his e'ftate; He was, therefore, offered, at
once, a Ipecific and confiderable fum, over
and above its full value to any other pcrfon :
and, to enfure the obje£t in view, he had, at
the fame time,- an offer made him of a confi-
derable farm; on advantageous terrhs.
The young man, being enterprifing, and his
little eftate beingj I believe, Ibmewhat en-
cumbered, accepted the offer, fold his eftate;
and agreed for a farm; — confifting partly
of old inclofure in part of common-field
land ; and, in a ftill greater proportion, of the
heath to be inclofed.
Mr. Wyndham (whofe virtues and abilities
are publicly known) having thus {in effeSi as to
this inclofure') gottiie entire parifh into his polk
fefiion, and having fet out the leaft fertile part
, of the heath, as a common, for die poor to
colleft fireing from, — he parcelled out the re-
mainder to different tenants, — laid out roads
and drifDwa} s, and divided tlie whole, whether
heath
Digitized by Google
N O R F O L
3^7
1782.
heath or common field, into inclofures of eight
to twelve acres each; or agreeably to the defire,
or conveniency, of the intended occupiers.
A principal part of the heath land was kid
to the farm of Mr. Prieft, the young man
above mentioned ; and was let to him on the
following terms.
Landlord agreed to raile fences, hang gates,
build a ney barn upon a large fcale, make
other alterations, and put the wiiole of the
buildings into thorough repair.
The tenant agreed to marl twenty acres every
year, until the whole (hould be marled, at the
rate of twenty- cart-loads an acre.
The rent agreed upon was this. Nothing
until it has been marled three years. The fourth
year, after marling, the rent to commence at
three Ihillings an acre : at which to continue
lour years ; and then ^namely, the eighth year
after being marled) to rife to Ihven Ihillings
and fixpence an acre ; and at this rent to remain
until the expiration of the term of twenty-one
years.
It was alfo further agreed that the tenant
fiiould be paid for the carriage of the materials
of the new barn ; but flmuld do that for the
repairs and alterations, gratis; as alfo for the
lubfequent
^ 37 -
INCLOSURES
Digitized by Google
361
137 -
INCLOSURES
M i N t T E S. bctv
jfabfequent repairs during the term; Alfo that
tenant fliould pay half the expence of work-
men’s wages for the fubl'equent repairs j pro-
vided that fuch moiety do not exceed .five
pounds in any one yean
This was a liberal agreement on the part of
the landlord, and, on a curfory view, may feem
to give extravagant encouragement to the
tenant. The following calculation, however, *
will fliew that, in the end, the plan will turn
out highly advantageous to the landlord.
Suppofc, for the fake of calculation, the
quantity of heath land, let to this tenant, to
be cxaftly three hundred acres ; and that thefc
three hundred acres are divided into thirty in-
ciofures of ten acres each } with a public road,
or a driftway, between each line of inclofures.
This is fufficicntly near, if not exa£Hy, the
fa£t upon Felbrigg-Heath.
In this cafe, every inclofurc required to be
fenced on three fides. '
Ten acres contain one thoufand fix hun-
dred ftatute rods. The fqiiare root of one thou-
fand fix hundred is forty j confequently each
inclofure, fupjx)fing them to be exactly fquarc,
required one hundred and twenty ftatute rods
of fencing.
The
Digitized by Coogle
NORFOLK.
*782*
36a
The price given for ditching, planting the
<5uick, and hedging, was eighteen pence each
long rod, of feveri yards. An hundred and
twenty ftatute rods contain about
95 long rods, which, at 1 8</. is - 726
4,500 quickfets, at ir. 6i. — ifj. f^d.
— furze-feed, £fS. ^d. - - 100
137-
INCLOSURES.
i;. 8 2 6
Forf*encing30 Inclofures, at 8/. 2 j. (>d.
each, reckon - - 250 6 o
*— 50 gates, with ports, irons and
hanging - - - 50 o o
• — the barn (very fpacious) luppofe 200 o o
**- additions, alterations and repairs 100 o o
Goo o o
compound Intercft on this fum, in
21 yearly payments at 4 per cent. 700 o o
1300 o o
The rents to be received, during the term,
fuppofing twenty acres to be marled yearly,
would be thefe :
VoL. II. B b t year
Digitized by Google
370
Oct.
137 -
INtLOSURES.
MINUTES.
I year
- o
0
0
Forward
153
0 0
2
- 0
0
0
12
year -
49
10 0
3
- o
0
0
13
57
0 0
4
- 3
0
0
14
1
— — -
64
0
0
5
- 6
0
0
15
-
72
0 0
6
- 9
0
0
16
—
79
10 0
7 ^
- 12
0
0
17
—
87
0 0
S
- 19
10
0
18
—
94
0
0
9
- 27
0
0
^9
99
0 0
lO
- 34
10
0
20
103
10 0
1 1 --
- 42
0
0
21
' ' — -
108
0 0
153
0
0
•
967
'10 0
As the compound intereft of the
' above receipts fet down
- -
232
0
0
jT. 1200 O O
Thus it appearsj from this calculation, that
on the 1‘uppofition of the articles of agree-
ment being ftrifUy adhered to, the landlord
will be paying at the expiration of the term
one hundred pounds as the purchafe-money of
three hundred acres of improved land, worth
from ten to fifteen Ihillings an acre j the prin-
cipal part of this allotment being a good loam,
lying on the defirable fubfoil, an abforbent
brickcarth.
«• ... .
But
Digitized by GoogI
t; 82 . NORFOLK;.
/
But the fadt is, and was probably foreleeh,
that the tenant, inftead of marling twenty acres
annually, according to the letter of the agree-
- ment, marled, I think he told me, upwards
of one hundred tlie firft year, and has now
nearly finifhed the whole.
Therefore, fuppofing the original fix hun-
dred pounds, and the firft feven years intereft,
to have been taken up, the landlord would,
' at the end of the term, have cleared off the
incumbrance, and have found fome hundred
pounds in his pocket •, befide the feefimplc
of one hundred and fifty to two hundred
pounds a year, from this allotment only j
befide the advantages arifing from the remain-
, dcr of the heath, and the inclofure of the
common field ■, and befides having done away
a nuifance, and planted induftry and plenty
upon an almoft ufelefs wafte : and this, too,
- without rendering himfclf odious, or his tenants
miferable. Improvements like this are real,
and bring a permanent incrcafe to the rentroll
of an eftatc.
END OF THE MINUTES.
B b * PRO-
3?t
137 -
inclosvr.es.
Digitized by Google
Digitized by Google
PJIOVINCI ALISMS
PjERJAfNING TO THE
P.URAL ECONOMY OF NORFOLK.
THE languages of Europe are not more
various, or fcarcely more different from each
Other, than are the dialefts of hufbandmen in
different diftrifts of this Ifland.
The praftice of a given Diftrift, therefore,
can only be ftudied in the dialeft of that Dif-
tridl. No converfatjon pan be carried on
witliout its affiflance, ,^nd although 3. man of
obfervation may, by obfervation alone, make
himfelf mafter of the oudine and principal
features of practice, yet for the minutiae, he
will find it convenient, and frequendy npeef-
fary, to have recourfe to converjation.
But a mere praftitioner will not communi-
cate with a man who does not fpcak his Ian-
B b 3 gua^Q
Digitized by Coogle
17 +
PROVINCIALISMS.
guage in its provincial purity : taking for
granted that he is as ignorant of the fubjcdl
in general, as he happens to be of bis merely
provincial terms. One word awry is capable
of putting an end to the moft interefting con-
vcrfationrand of giving the praftitioner fuch
an opinion of the obferver, as to confider him
in future, either beneath his notice, Of above
his comprehenfion.
The firft ftep, therefore, to be taken, by a
man who is defirous of ftiKlying the praflice
of a DiftriiSt, is to gain a knowledge of its pro-
vincial language ; for, until this be obtained,
in fome certain degree, he cannot join profit-
ably in convcrfation with thofe who are beft
able to clear up his doubts, and lead him on
to frelh difcoveries.
To acquire with greater readinefs, and re-
tain with greater eafe and certainty, this necef-
fary knowledge , and to indulge, at the fame
time, an inclination to an enquiry into the ori-
gin and progrela of the Englifh language ; I
regiftered the provincialifms of the Diftrift,
with the fame afllduity I did its pradice j and
find myfelf pofiefled of near a thoufand devia-
tions from the eftablilhed language.
But
Digitized by Google
NORFOLK,
375
But the major part of thofe provinclalifms
do not relate efpecially to rural affairs ; but
belong to the ordinary dialcft of the country ;
and cannot, with 'propriety, be introduced
here. I have therefore feleded fuch, only,
as pertain to the fubjeft of thefe volumes.
I have, however, made the feleftion as ample -
as this line of conduit would admit of — ^for
fcveral realbns.
Such a feleilion will, in the inftant, ferve
to throw additional light upon the prefent vo-
lumes ; and may, hereafter, be found ufeful
to thofe who may have occafion to ftudy on the
fpot, the rural economy of the Diftriit,
Other more material benefits may arife from
a colledtion of Gloffaries of the provincial
terms of different and diffant Diftriits ; fuch
Gloffaries may ferve to elucidate paffages in
the EARLY WRITERS, Oil rural fubjeits, which,
without their affiftance, might remain inexpli-
cable. And, above all, they may be fervice-
able in afeertaining the particular Diftriits in
which they feverally wrote : a circumftance, at
prefent, little known ; though moft effentially
neceffary in fixing the degree of credit which
is due to their rclpedive works,
B b 4
Digitized by Googl
37® PROVINCIALISMS,
A.
A -LADY. Ladyday (in common ufe).
ANBURY. A difeafe • incident to turncps»
See yol. ii. p. 33.
B.
B ARNED. Hpufed in the barn (a fimple proper term),
BATTONS. Strong broad fencing rails. Seevol.i.p.85.
BARN-YARD. Straw-yard ; fold-yard (a good term),
BECK. A rivulet (Invwable).
BEG GARY. Land let down, through a want of proper
manure and tillage, is faid to be “ run to beggary.’*
To BESTOW. Toftowaway.
BINS. Applied, provincially, to tlie receptacles of
ftraw in a ferm-yard ; cow-cribs.
BLUNK OF WEATHER. A fit of fqually tern-
peftuous weather.
BOKE LQAD. A large top-heavy, bulky load,
BRAND* Smut (in common ufe).
BRANDY. Smutty (alfo common).
BRANK. Buck (ufed only in the Southern Hundreds),
BRECK. A large new-made inclofurc.
BROADS. Frelb-water lakes; [thzth, broad waters^
in diftinflion to narrow waUr\^ or rivers).
BUCK. Polyginurnfagopyrum. See voJ. i. p. 126.
BUCKSTALLING. Cutting hedge-thorns fencer
height. See yol. i. p. 10 1.
BUDULE. Chryfanthemum fegeium-, corn- marigold,
BUDS. Yearling cattle.
BULLOCKS. See vol. i. p. 337.
• BULLS,
Digitized by Google
NORFOLK.
377
RULLS. The Hems of hedge-thorns.
BURGOT, or BEERGOOD. Yeaft.
BUSH-DRi\.INING. Underdraining (being done
with buQies),
C,
CANKERS. Caterpillars.
CANKERWEED. Senecio iacobtea\ common ra<r-
wort.
CANSEY. Caufeway. , .
CANSFf. A linall mow.
CAST. Yield; applied to corn-crops. '
CAULK. Hard chalk ; or, perhaps, chalk in general,
CHEARY. Careful; fparing ; choice,
CHICKED. Sprouted; begun to vegetate, as feed
the ground, or corn infwath or “fhuck.”
(JllllNGLE. Gravel, free from dirt.
CHOAKED. Blown up, or fufjjated, with a turnep
in the throat.
CLOTE. Xujfilago farfarq-, coltsfoot. '
ODBS. Sca-gi}lls.
COCKEY. 1 he grate over a common fewer. Hcnce|
probably, Cockey-lane, in Norwich.
COCKSHEADS. Plantago lanceolata ; plantaiq j
rib-wort ; rib-grafs.
COLDER. See STOYER.
COOMB- Four bufliels; half a quarter. ^ ‘
COSH. The hulk or chaff of wlieat and oats.
COLTS. Lambs brought up by hand ; cades.
COVEY. A cover of fur7,c, &c. for garnc,
COW-
Digitized by Google
37S
PROVINCIALISMS.
COW-PAR. Straw-yard ; fold-yard.
A CRINGLE. A with, or rope, for faftening a gate.
To CRINGLE UP. To fkften with a cringle.
CROFT, or CRAFT. A finall common Held. Sec
vol. i. p. 8.
CRONES. Old ewci!. See vol. ii. p. 28.
CROOM, or CROME. Any thing hooked; a$
muck croom, turnep crome.
To CROWD. To wheel in a barrow.
CROWDING-BARROW, A wheelbarrow.
P.
DABBING. Dibbling.
DANNOCRS. Hedging gloves.
DAUBING. Plaiftcring with clay.
DAUBY. Clammy, fticky : fpoken of land when wet,
DAVYING. See vol, ii. p. 257.
DICK. The mound, or bank of a ditch.
DICK-HOLL. The excavation, or. ditch itfclf.
DINDLES. Sortchus alcraceus iff arvenfn ; common
and com fow-thiftlcs : alfo, the taller hawkweeds.
DrrCIIING. A general term for fencing with hedge
and ditch.
DOOM AN. A fnail.
DOGGEDLY. Badly; fhamefully done.
DOLE, or SEVERAL. A piece of land upon a heath
or common, off which only one particular perfon hath
a right to cut fuel.
DOLE-STONE. A landmark, or boundary Hone,
To
Digitized Ijy Google
■NORFOLK.
m
To DOSS, To ftrikc with the horn, or gore flighdy,
^ as cattle frequently do each other.
DOW, or DOO. A dove, or pigeon (common).
DOWLER. a dumplin (common).
DRAINS,' Brewers’ grains.
DRUG. A four-wheeled timber carriage,
DRY. Drought : “ the crop was caught in the dry,”.
DYDLE. A kind of mud drag.
F.
FALL-GATE. A gate acrofs a public road.
FAl'-HEN. Sec MUCKWEED.
To FEY, or FAY. To cleanfe, — whether a well, q
pit, or corn.
FICKLETO W. The fore-tackle, or carriage, which
fupports the plowbeam.
FLAG. The furrow turned.
FLAGS. Turves, or fods.
FLIGHT— of BELS, the proper term for a fwarm
of bees.
To FLITCH. To move from place to place ; as from
farm to farm.
FLUE. The coping of a gable or end-wall of ahoufe,
FOLLOWERS. Lean itore cattle or Iheep, which
follow the fatting bullocks. See vo!. i, p. 290.
FORCING. Fattening,
FOREIGNER. A ftrangerj one of another county j
not of the neighbourhood.
To FORGIVE. To thaw.
FOUR,
Digitized by Coogle
PROVINCIALISMS.
360
POURINGS. An afternoon meal in harved.
FULL-PITCH. Plowing the full depth of the foil if
called ** taking it up a full pitch.”
FURLONG. The liije of diredlion of plowed land-;,
See vd. i. p. 131.
FURS. Furzes,
O:
GAIN. Handy ; convenient ; docile. Ungatttf the
rcverfc (much in ufe).
GARGUT, or GARGET. A difeafe incident to
calves- See vol. ii. p. 125.
GARGUTrROOT, The root of Helleborus fceti-
dut ; bears-foot.
GATHERING. Rolling corn-fwatks into cocks or
bundles,
GAY. Gaudy; as fpeckled, light-coloured cattle.
GEER. Stuff ; thing (a general term),
GILL. A pair of timber-wheels.
GLADDON, or GLADDEN. Typha laUfoUa
anguJ*fol\a . ; large and fmall cats-tail.
GOOSE-TANSEY. Potentilla anferina-, fllverweed,
GOTCH. A jug or pitcher (in common ufe).
^'o GRAZE. To fat.
GRAZIERS. Falters of cattle; whether their food
be grafs, turncps, or oilcake.
GREASY. Foul; graffy ; fpoken of fallows ot other
plowed grounds.
The GRISSONS. The ftairs, or flair-cafe.
GROWERS. Farmc.'S. Crr(rr "rai'.’trr, capital far-
aiers.
GRUg-
Dlgitized by Google
NORFOLK*
38*
GRUB-FELLING. The common method of nJciilg
down timber trees. See vol. i. p. 123. ,
GULPH. A mowj or bay-full^ in a barn. '
GULPH - STEAD, GOAFSTEAD, or GO-
STEAD. A bay, or dlvifion of a barn.
H.
To HAIN. To raife, or heighterij a^ to bain the
rent, the rick, or the ditch.”
HAKES. The copfe or draught-irons of a plow.
Alfo pot-hooks.
HARDS, of HURDS. Tow.
HARVEST-BEEF. A general term for butcher
meat eaten in harveft, whether it be beef or mutton '
HAUGHTY WEATHER. Windy weather. ^
A HAY. A dipt hedge (common).
HE.^D. Bullocks are faid to go at head-, v/hen they
have the firft bite; in diftindion to ihofe. which foRovt.
HEAD KEEP. 'I'he firft bite : the beft the farm
will afford.
HECK. A half door.
HECKFOR. Heifer. *
HELVE. Applied to handles In general.
HIGHLANDERS. Scotch catde of the Highland
breed.
HILD. Lets or fediment of beer.
HILDER. Elder.
HOBBIDY. A man-boy (ufed in common).
HOBBY. A hack (in common ule).
HOG WEED. Polygonum aviculare knotgrafs.
HOLL>
Digitized by Coogle
382 PROVINCI A'Li sms;
HOLL, or IIOL. The hollow of the ditch, in diftlnC'-*
tion to the “ dick” or bank of the ditch.
HOMEBREDS. Cattle of the Norfolk breed.
To HORN. To gore or wound with the horns.
HORSE-BRAMBLES. Briars ; wild rofe.
HORSE-TREE. Whippin; or fwingletrce.
HULVER. Holly.
'A HURRY. A fmall load of hay or corn.
I. & J.
A JAM. A vein or bed of marl or clay.
To JAM. To render firm by treading ; as cattle do
land they are foddered on.
JIMMERS. Door-hinges (common).
INWARDS. Intrails j intelHnes.
To JOLL. To job with the beak ; as rooks joll for
worms ; or for corn recently fown.
JOURNEY. Half a day’s work at plow or harrow.
K.
KEEPING-ROOM. A fitting-room.
KERNELS. Grains of \yheat, &c.
KIDS, or KID. Faggots; bavins.
‘KILLER. A fmall (hallow tub; a fmall cooler.
KNACKER. Ufed in common for collar-maker.
L.
LAID. Juft frozen. When water is (lightly frozen
over, it is faid to be luiJ.
LANNIARD. The thong of a whip.
LASH,
Digitized by Coogic
N O R F O L ,K. 383
LASH, or LASHY. Very wet; as “ cold lafliy wea-
ther.”
LAYER. Plants of hedgewood ; quick.
^ o LATCH. To catch as water, See.
To LECK-ON. To add more liquor ; as in brewino".
LEGGET. A tool ufed by reed-tha"chers.
LIFT-GATE. A gate without hinges, being lifted
into notches in the polls.
LIFTING. (Corn in fwath.) See vol. i. p. 242.
LOBSTER. A (lute.
LOKE. A clofe narrow lane (common).
LOWER. A lever.
LUMPS. Barn-fioor bricks.
M. '
f
MANNER. Rich mould of any kind colledled for the
purpofe of mixing with dung.
MARRAM, or MAREA'I. Arundo arenarla', fea-
• reed-grafs.
Ad.ARSHES. Fens and fwamps come under that de-
nomination in Norfolk. See vol. i. p. 320.
AIARSHLANDERS. Cattle of the marlhland or
Ihort-horned breed.
' MAVISH, or MAVIS. The thrulh.
MAUL. A mallet.
MAUTHER. A little girl (in common ufe).
MEADOWS. Low, boggy, rotten grafsland.
MEATY. Flcfliy, but not “ right fat.”
MERGIN. The mortar or cement of old walls. See
vol. i. p. 30.
To
Digitized by Google
38 + PROVINCIALISMS.
ToMOYS. To thrive; fpoken of crops and flock i
alio in a general fenfe ; as, “ he muddles on but does
not moys.”
MUCK. The provincial and proper name of what i-s
more commonly, but lefs properly, called dungi
MUCKWEED, or FAT-HENi Chenopodium al-
bum ; common goofe-foot.
MUDCROOM. A tool ufed by water-workers. See
vol. ii. p. 79.
MURRAIN. See GARGUT.
N.
NEEDLEWEED. Scandix peSien VenerU\ lliep-*
herd’s needle.
A NIP. A near, fplit-farthing houfe-wife>
A NOCKLE, or KNOCKLE. A mallet or beetle.
NOGG. Strong beer (common).
NONSUCH, black, 'rrefoil-feed.
ivklte. Rye-grafs-feed. See Vol. ii. p. 1 79*
NOONINGS. Workmen’s dinner-time.
OAMY. Light, porous, floury; fpoken of plowed
land.
OLLAND. Lay-ground (old land).
OPEN. Not fpayed; fpoken of a heifer, or a fow.
OVER-YEAR. Bullocks which are not flniflied at
three years old, if homebreds — or the firft winter after
buying
Digitized By Google
NO R F O L K.
385
buying, if purchafed— but are kept through the enfu- ,
ing fummer, to be fatted the next winter, are faid to
be k.ept over -year-, and are termed bullocks.
OUTHOLLING. Shovelling out a ditch for the ma-
nure it contains. See vol. i. p. 76, and 101. and
vol. ii. p. 76.
OWLSCROVVN. Gnapbalium fylvaticum ; wbod
cudweed, •
P.
PACK-WAY. A bridle read (common).
PADS. See PEDS.
PAN. The flooring on which the cultivated fail lies.
See vol. i. p. 1 1.
PAR-YARD. Straw-yard; fold-yard.
PAVEMENTS. Square paving-bricks ; flooring-
bricks; paving-tiles.
PEDS, or PADS. Paniuers.
PETMAN. I'he laft of the fare.
PETTY SESSIONS, See vol. i, p. 40.
PICKPURSE, or, SANDWEED. Spergula ar~
vehfis\ common fpurrey.
PIGHTLE, or PYKLE. A fmall inclofure ; a croft.
PLANSHER,or PLANCHER. The chamber-floor.
PLAT. The mould-board of a plow.
PLOWJOGGER. A plowman.
PLOWS. Plowed ground ; whether clofes, or pieces
in open fields.
POLLARDS. Trees headed down to the Acm, and
cropped or polled, from time to time, for fire-wood,
A term general xi the fouthern and caAern counties.
Vol, II. C c POLLER.
Digitized by Coogle
383
PROVlN'CIAtlSMS.
POLLER, or POLLEN, or HEN POLLEN. The
hen-rooft.
PULK. A puddle.
PUTT. A mole-hill (in cnmmon ufc).
To PUT. To {tumble, as a horfj.
0 .
QUARTERS. The inn a farmer ufcs at market, &c.
:s called his ^arUrs : and he is faid to quarter
at fuch an inn.
QUICKS. Trltlcum npens ; couch-grafs.
R.
R ANNY. The little field-moufc;
RAFTY. Damp and mufty ; as corn or hay in a wet
fealbn.
REDW^EED. Papavet rheas-, round-fmooth-headed
poppy.
To REAVE. To unroof or difturb the roof.
RED-ROW. When the grains of ripening barley
are ftreaked witli red, the crop is faid to be rn tho
red-row.
REED-RONDS. Plots, or beds of reed : or, the
fvvamps which reed grows in.
RICEBALKING. A particular method of plowing.
See vol. i. p. 142.
A RIDE. A comnaon name for a faddle-horfe.
RIGG. Ridge.
RIN. Brine.
RINGES. Rows, of hay, quicks, &c.
ROADING. Running races with teams, upon the
road. See vol. i. p. 44.
ROSE.
Digitized by Google
O
NORFOLK.
387
ROKE. Mift, or fog.
ROOFING. The ridge-cap of thatched roofs.
To Rope. To tedder ; as a horfe.
RO WEN. After-grafs ; latter-math.
S.
SANDWEED, See PICKPURSE.
SCAITHFUL. Given to breaking palliirtf. Alfo,
liable to be over-run by ftock ; as open fields, &c.
5 CALDS. Patches of land which are more liable to
be fcorched, burnedy or fcalded ir^ a hot feafon, than
the remainder of the piece they are fituated in.
To SCALE-IN. To plow in with a (hallow furrow,
SCORING ; or, SCOWRING. See vol. i.p. 139.
SCOTCHES, Scores, or notches.
SCOTS. Scotch cattle.
3 EEL, or seal. I'ime or feafon ; as, hay-feel,’*
hay-time; “ barley-feel,” barley feed-time ; “wheat-
feel,” wheat feed-time ; “ bark-feel,” the barking
feafon. Alfo, ufed fometimes in common eonvcrla-,
tion ; as, what feel of day is it ?”
several. Sec pole.
SHACK, Stock turned into the ftubbles after barveft
are fajd to be at Jback. Grounds lying open to.
common fields are faid to “ lie quite (hack,”
X SHACKING. Alhabby rambling fellow’ fliving at
fhack).
To SHEAR. To reap ; as wheat.,
• C« 2 SHELLED,-
Digitized by Google
3*8 PROVINCIALISMS.
SHELLED. Pied; party-coloured.
SHIFTS. Parts of a farm allotted for the reception of
ftoclc or crops. Sec vol. i. p. 131.
SHOTS. Young ftore fwine.
SHUD. Shed.
ToSHUG. To fhake ; as hay, &c.
SHUGGINGS. That which is fhed or fcattered, as
corn at harveft.
SHY. Harebrained ; high-mettled ; head-ftrong; as
wild colts, &c,
SINGULAR. Lone or fingle ; as a fingular houfe, ot
farm.
SKEP. A coarfe round ferm-balket ; alfo a bee-hive.
SLADE, Sledge.
F o SLADE DOWN. To draw battle part of the
mould into the interfurrow, with the plow dragging,
or Jlading upon its fide.
SLAKE. Leifure; “ to be at flake,” to be at leifure. ’
SLOBBERERS. Slovenly farmers.
SLOB-FURROWING. A particular method of
plowing. See vol. i. p; 143.
SLUSS. Mud ; mire.
SMARTWEED. Polygonum hydroplper ei Pennfyl-
vanicum\ bitingand pale-flowered perfleariasjarfmart.
SNAIL-HORNED. Having Ihort down-hanging
horns, with blunt points, and fomewhat bent, in the
ufual form of the fnatl ; fpoken of cattle.
To SOL. To pull by the ear, as a dog pulls a fow.
SPARKLING. Claying between the fpars to COv'er
the thatch of cottages (Ipaf-claying).
SPIRKET,
)
I
Digitized by Google
NORFOLK.
3*f
SPIRKET. A hook to hang things on.
SPOULT. Brittle, fpoken of wood, &c.
SPURWAY. Bridle-road.
SQJJALLY. A crop of turneps, or of corn, which ,
is broken by vacant unprodu£rivc patches, is (aid to bd
fqually.
To SQUINDER. To burn inwardly; as charcoal;
See. are burnt.
STANDS. Young timber-trees under fix inches tim-
ber girt, or twenty.four inches in circumference.
STARK, or STUCK. Tight, or ftifF.
STATESMEN. Yeotiien; fmall owners.
STOCK. Species of a crop. See article Turneps, Sx,
S'rONDLE. A bearing tub.
STOPS. Small well-buckets.
STOVER. A general term for the different fpecies of
fodder arifing from thrafhed corn, whether It be ftraw,
chaff, or “ colder a provincial term for the Ihort
ftraws, ears, and rough chaff, which are feparated
from the corn- in-chaff, by the rake and the riddle,
after the ftraw is Ihook off the floor ; and which, in
every country, has a provincial term afligned it; but
totally different in diffcreiK DiftriiTcs.
To STOW. To confine ; as cattle in a yard or
pound.
STUBWOOO. All wood which grows in hedgerows
and docs not come under llie denomination of “ tim-
bers,” “ pollards,”or “'thorns,” is called “ ftubwood.”
STULP. A poll of any kind.
SUCKLING.
Digitized by Google
490
P R O V I N C I A L 1 S S.
SUCKLING. Xrifaliumrepens \ white clover,
SUAIMERLY. A turnep-failow, A backiuard fu/rr> , ’
merly, an autumnal wheat-fallow a right-out fum-,
merly \ a whole year's fallow.
SWALE, Shade.
S W YS. Rods, or fwitches.
SWINGRE. A erank.
T.
TACK. SubdaiKCjfolidity, proof; fpoken of llic foo4
of cattle and other ftock.
TAR-ROPE. Rope-yarn; the thread of ol4 cables, &c,
TASKER. A thralher.
TEAMER. a team of five horfes,
TEAMERMAN, A waggoner, carte", or driver o(
a tcamer.
TE ATHE. The dung, &c, of cattle^ See vol. i. p. 3 j. *
THAPES. Goqfeberries,
'I'KIGHT. Applied to turneps or other crops, — clofe^
thickfet : applied to roofs or velfcls, — impervious-r
oppofed to leaky.
THACK. Thatch : thacijicr^ thatchcr,
THONE,^or THONEY. Daqip, limber, asunder-
cried hay.
To TOP-UP. To linLli highly ; as fatting bullocks,
TRlP. Of lliccp; — afmall Hock.
TURf. Peat.
'I'WO-FURROWING. Double plowing ; trench-
plov.'ing ; fod-burying.
» This term is probably cf Scotch origin.
VALLEY.
Digitized by Coogle
Valley.
ill a roof.
N 0 k E 0 L K.
V.
391
Any fmall holIoW or channel ; as a gutter
VANCE-ROOF. The garret.
V ARDLE. A common eye or thimble of igate, with
a fpike only. ’
U.
UNCALLOW. The earth whieh covers a jam or
marl.
UNDER CORN. Short, weak, underling corn, over-
hung by tlie crop.
WALLACE. The withers of a hor/c.
WARBEE I LES. The large maggots which are bred
in the backs of cattle.
Warps. Fiat wide beds of plowed land.
WATER-WORKERS. Makers of meadow-drains
and wet ditches.
WELL. A chimney or vent-hole in a rick or mow.
WINTER-DAY. The winter feafo.n.
WINTER-WEED, i^crenica hcderifdia; ivy-Icaved
fpeedwell.
WISP. A rowel, or feton.
• WOODBOUND. Land which is encumbered with
tall woody hedgerows, fo as to hinder a free admiflion
of fun and air, and tjiereby prevent it from exertin-r
Its natural ftrength and fertility, is faij to be wood!
bound.
W OOD LAYER. Young plants of oak, or other tim-
ber, Lud into hedges among « white-thorn-layer. »
WRECK.
Dlyitli;
rj by Google
2
PROVINCIALISMS.
WRECK. Dead undigefted roots and ftcms of gr^fles
and weeds in plowland.
WRETWEED. (That is, wart-weed). Euphorbia
heli^ctpia j fun fpurge.
WRONGS. Crooked arms, or large boughs, of trees,
when the faggot wood is cut oiF.
general
Digitized by Google
General index
TO THE
J
TWO VOLUMES.
•AW, M. 38. 51. refer to Minutes 38 and 51. L i2t
to Vol. I. Pace hi.-
A.
A LDERS, M. ,
^ Anbury of the turnep,
,■ M. 10. It'
Ant-hills, (L 50 ^
Afli, L HI. M. ^ fil. qq.iiS
Alhes, I. 31
AylelhamWr.M.
\
Barns. See Building
Barn-manageitient, i. 189
Barley, L. 2x3. M. it. ^ 57*
Battens, L 8j ' '
Beads of labour. See Horfes
Bees, L 383- M. 116
Berbery, M.. 13, 133
Blowfield Hundred, M. 1 18
Breaking tnrncps, M. 84
Bricks, u 8i
Brick earth of the coall, M.
i_ia
Buck, L
Buds, L 336
Buildings, L 81. M. ^
21i 12- J5* 4?1 6b. ^ ji.
92. 116. 118. 13 t
Vox.. li.
Building-leafe, M. lofi
Building-materials, Lid
Bullocks, L 3j_2
Bullock.-lheds, L 8^ M. til -
ButtrclTcs, M. 6
Calves, L ui ' ' *■
Carts, L $!_
CaAing corn, L 190
Caterpillar of the turncp, M.
li. liZ . '
Cattle, L 323 • • . I
^ , breed of, L 323. ‘ M.
40 . 69. dg. 72. 1 IQ. 1 19
— , general management,
M. 33. 53. 66. 70. 74
' r rearing, L 332. M. '
46. 53- 69. 70
. . buying,!. 344. M. 39. ’
no. 113. 134
■ ‘ — , method of farting,
348. M. 39. 40. 5^ 69.
2li 84. 53. 92: red.
110. 118 ^
. . . .. 1 '. Iw • ; ,4.' i, ■
D d Cattle,
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I
INDEX.
Cattle, difpofal of, L tto. M.
lot. 107 . 111. 111. lit, 117
Chalks, 1. ^
Chcck-'bcam, M. ^
Chcefc, L jjo
Ciftcrn, M. ^
Clays, L tL ^1. io6. iii
Claying, L 1 to. M. m4
Cleanfing plowland, L
Clover. See Cultivated gralTea
Clover-fecd market at Nor-
wich, M.ici •
Compoft, L tV
Covenant, L 6 t)
Cows, L 328. M. 2. |i. io8.
109 " '
Cultivated gralTes, L 30, M.
24. lai. ir,6
D.
Dairy. Sec Caws
Decoys, L 377
Dibbling, L 167. M. 2^.
2 l
Dibbling-roller, i. 213
DiftriAf >■ L, 106. lll.
. uS
Ditches againft bill-fides, M.
walked down, M. 103
Draining, L i4>. M. 2. 44. ^
Drilling, L 167. M. 13
Drinking-pits, L
Dung, i. 12
Dunging, i. LSI
Dweliing-bouie. See Build-
E.
KafterQ coaS, M..112
Eftates, L6
Exchange of lands, M. 4
F.
Faggot-fence, M. 1^
Fair of Aylc&am, •
Fair of Hok,
Fair of Ingham, M. 1x2
Fair of North Wallham, M.
lOt ' •
Fair of St. Faith’s, M. 27. 134-
fairof Worftead, M. 10?. -
Fairs of Norfolk, general oh-
ferrations, M. lix *’
Farms, L 8
Farmers! L ^ M. s** *of-
' 1V4
Farmeries, L81. M. LOfi
Farm yards. - See Buildings
Farm-yard man, L 189.
M. 28 . - •
Felbrigg inclofure, M.
Fences, dead, i, 24 ' ’
Fence walls, M. 114
Fens, L 142: ^ 54
Firewood, l 21. MT^ 2?
Fleg Hundred, M. icb ■
Flooring-materials, i. jo
Fold-yards, L 84
Foliation of the oak a guide to
Towing barley, i, 238
Furze-faggot fence,^^. 134
Furze-food, M. 30
Furze-guard," L 109
Furze-hedge, M. i&
Furze-feed, tofow, M. 104
•G. ' r - .
Gables, M. 25 ■
Game, L 172. M. 41
Game laws, L ilx '
Gargut, M. jo
Gates, 1. 54. M. 9. iij. 134
General management of
eftfites, L ^ M. 4.42. 38.*
79- 106. 137
GeneraJmanagement of farms,
1:_L 124. M. 42; 7 9. 98.
loS. 112. 114. n8
Generali management of tim-
tier, L 122. M. 11. 2®
Gleaners, L 210
Graaing-grounds, L 310
Grubbing borders, L 112
R.
Hand-weeding, i. i?o
Harks, L m ,
Harrowing, L. 143
Harveft-procefs, L 184
Hay-chamber floor ,~M. ij
Heads of a leafe, L to
.Hedges,!. 96. M. 4. j. 34. 42.
^ . 4S- .
a
Digiiizcri by Coogle
I N D E ■ . X.
4V f J- 88. 90. 103.
104. 106. 1 10». ■ ‘ •• —
He<^e-row timber, L 98
Htogf -woods, L ill ' '
Hog-ciftern, M.
Hoing turneps, j, , .
Holt Uir, M. 32
Hbmebredl,‘i. 339
Hops, 1 18
Horfes, l. 41. M. qa
Ingham fair, I II
Implement, L to. M.
InclofUrcs, i. M. 1J2
Ihtand nivigatibn, L; M.
s}6 i!'
Ivied ditch-banks, M. 63
' L.
Labourers. See Workmen
Land-tai,* i. 64 ' - -
Laying-out ^ms, L 130
Laytng-up plow land, 1. 147
Leafi, heads of, L 70
Lime, L 30. 9«. M. 19
Liming, L i4i .
• * ' M.
Malt-coombs, L u
Malt'duft, tQ fow, i, i6£
Manures, L »s. M. LL 10.
11, \8, 3u to<.> 1 1 a.
ii8. no
M^nure-procefs, L 150. M.
iii ij6
Manuring. ■ See -Manure-pro-
cefs
Maphrodite, L 50
Markets, L to3.~M. 17. 3^ ga.
'by »oi. 10^ to|2. 111. 111;
I?4
Marl, L M. stz
Mifling, 150. M. 5^. Its
Marram, MTiofe. LLi
Marflits, L 3^ M. ii8'~
mills, M. ti8 ■ '
Meadows, L Jii. M. 44. *0.
Mtdrummcr.flioot, M. 130,
Mould, i. 17 . .
Muck. Sec Dung
N.
Natnral graffes, L 310.M.S.7.
^ 10. 31.39.44. so. 91. 34;
ot. 96. 118. 117
Northi W aliham corn-market,
M.80
North^Walfliam fair, M. 105
t^orwich clover-feciT market, •
• M. ipj ■ ^ •
O.
Oaks, 1* M, tS. 37. 39. 94
Oak timber! in hedge-row .
i. it3.Vii" • ‘ .
Oats, L i4i'
Old Hedges, L too
p . 1
Pan, L IX
Pantiles, to Ur, M. tt
Par-yards, L 84
Peas, L
Pheafants, L M. 41
Flsintui^i ig sjov M, 36, 37*
„; 38 - 8..93 •
Planting oaks in hedges,}. 1 2 1.
Plows,! ja • ‘ ^
Plowing, iTiiS
Pollards, fa 98. M. 90.
Poor’s fate, j, ^
Poultry, L 3^
Progrefs of Iping, M. 125
Pruning of timbers, M. t •
R. ‘
Rabbits, L 370. M. 79
Railing now hedges, fa loi _
Rape-cake, Lis
Rape-cake, to low, L LS5
Rearhig battle, L 331
Receiving rents, i. 70.M. 47
Reed, i, 88 , M , t i. 5 a. ox .
Ren?,- L 68, M. 58 ^
Repairs. See Buildings
t eplanting hedges, L ixi. .
elidence of workmen, M. 91
Ridgils, ro-cur,M. 99 -
Rolling, i. 145
Roller, L 58^
Rooks, frightening,!. 171
Rubbing-pofts, M. SS “
Rye
Digitized by Google
I-. D E- X,
L \ : • t
Rye-grafs. See Cultivated Thatching,.!,
" Thinning timbers, M. 85
Tiles, >0 lay, M. 33.48
Timbe^, List. M74.~8^ . fo
Timbers and pollardil in
GralTcs . ^
'■ ■ ■■’■ S.
.«
1
^ \
» t
»
.1. X
St. Faith’s fair, M, i»; 134. Timbief, Lias. Rf74.X <. fo
Salefman’s account, i. 353 ^ Timbers and poIlarJf ia
Scalds,, i. i j. ' , , “ hedges,,^M. 9’o
- ' Scotch cattle, i. 3 -40 ^ ' ' , , , .Timber-^rriages, ij -60
l)Cafohs‘, i. i 38."M; 113 ’ ' Time of fowtn^.i. a3 8.M.ii5 ''
,• Sea-ftones, i. 87 " . ' ^ ' Tithe, i. ^
^ Sea>ft«ne walls, JM. fi6 ' T 1 Training ^dgf-timber,j. 48^
— Seed-procefs, L i6y. M. tg, , Tranfplantlng large oaks, Ml
JSJ ' ' ' ** g ^
Sefvahts. See Workmpp ’ Tr«oij[, SeeCultivatcdGyalTes ‘
Sheep, L 36a. 11. 17.. Turnent.i. aitS.M .''j'. la. io. ‘
ii. 75;, >6. <r8,,8a^^, » 9- s<>- S7- 6 1 . 6|'. 7 il "
, 95. ,i^.i43 >*' ' ;■ ' 74. i3;*84'.,ia8. Ill’
Shcepfold, i. 54. M. I, iib«- Turnyi-caterpillarjM.ii.iit ,
”* ’fc ■ * ' -V.’ '1‘ehtnredo, M; ’li*. '
Sheep-aow*f Ciimon, M.* 114. 119.13*
'•1*3 V ^ •’ ' Tti/o-Veah-olds’, i. 33!? 1
SmithfteldjMi^t.' Sc? Bui/ . ■ , - *
IpclA;^ Aifb Iw^ II 1. 1 1 3. 1 ^7^ Vegftifile economy^ M. 6»
I S 5 ik,tis j'liM. 'jj*. 7^, 106.^ Vegetating procelsj Liyo,
' 106. 118. Ill - Vetches, Lit#
. fcil-procefs, L ij^l U._‘ . (
• SL ^*^7 1 , • tfnderdraining, u 148. M. *. *
Snow-Uedgei f. 59 ‘ LI 114 '
Soot j i. 35 Y ' 'Wv’' -
Soot, tofbw,i. 184 . ' Waggohsl 115* ^ t ,
Sparrowa, i. 171 • J, Water-carriage, -M. 136 '
Stiii?.pi eking, i, 171' ' Weeding, L 170 ' *
StoK-catfle, M . 74 ^ ’ ' Weld) M. 16 ^ -
Straw-ygrd minagement, WReatji. 101. M- 13714. ‘
lb. *8. 41. 43. ij, ,T
j_’io8rt'33. ^ .... ■’ . . ‘
Winnowing, 1, ijo ,
, Woodjlan.ds, Ltio . , -
W orkpen, 1. 40, M. 98^ 100, '
1 io6 (
Worftead fai.r; M» i®7
ti.
Stalflet. See Building^ ~
Sncceflioji, i. 131 ' " ‘
SwHie, i. 37*. ^ 5t i ^ •
Taxes', f.'SA
Tay^ing oaklings,'M; 38 '
Teatbe, i. j%, M; 31;
Tenancy, 1. 87
Terfthtedo of the turnep^ Mi
' h^^. 114; iij, 13a , ,
Term, k 6y ~ '
Tarnlouth marihes,' M..it4.‘
ride to, M. lai \ • '
Yearlings, . ' 1_1H
• * 1 -.'* . 4 ^
■ V .
- J ^
.. ‘1
f
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